The Last Words-Being conscious of TIME!

Following excerpts are the last words with my students (classes VII & IX) of Chapcha Middle Secondary School, Chukha, during the Farewell session, in August 2012. I taught them (mathematics) for 45 days as a practicing teacher (TP).

The time is a precious resource, which you cannot save for future! Does it sound familiar? I hope it does. Because I have been saying this, countless times and if it was something perishable, it would have been long perished and found its destiny in a garbage pit. But it isn’t something of that sort to say the least. It is a timeless thing. As a GNH graduate, you should be mindful of the time and its significance. And use them judiciously. Don’t waste time for something that would lead you to nowhere, be it short term or long term. There is absolutely no harm in aiming so high, unless of course those aims come into your life as deterrents. But your high aims should sufficiently be backed with consistent efforts from your part. In fact, it is only when you aim so high that you eventually be able to land somewhere in the middle. However, it is very important for you to have a self-comforting strategy worked out in advance. Meaning, that you should not be so rigid or hard on yourself that would ultimately make your life miserable if your aims aren’t fulfilled as you aspired.  And that you should somehow know your limitations and talents and whatever the circumstances, know how to consol yourself. Well again, of course, know how to celebrate your success if it turns out good. Knowing how to acknowledge your effort, time and whatever factors that would have facilitated you to get to that level is very important. I say it important not because you have then succeeded, but it is, in fact, even more important if you have failed. Failing isn’t unnatural to anybody else for we have experienced one time or other. But what isn’t natural is that we don’t take the failure as a stepping-stone, in the sense we don’t access the factors that could have possibly led to the failures. If we did that, we would become a better person following the failure. So key point here, don’t abandon the failure but acknowledge it and learn from the mistakes!

Don’t blame your life when in reality you are the one who is entirely responsible for building that life itself-you are the architect of your own life. Life isn’t what you get of it, but what you make of it. Someone had matter-of-factly said, “Is life worth living? That depends on liver.” Although the condition of liver would ultimately determine if your life is worth living or not, as long as other conditions are well in place, make your life worth living. Because, do you realize getting the life itself is priceless needless to mention being worthy? Even more so, we are the set of most fortunate ones to have borne in the peace-loving country like ours. We can’t ask for more when you are already being accorded with free education, shelters, health care and many more. Our Kingdom’s constitution guarantees it. Don’t you think we are fortunate? I am sure you agree with me. In our country, we don’t have to die simply because we can’t bear the medical expenses or afford to pay health insurance. Despite the fact that our country is underdeveloped with weak economy, the government ensures that we the citizens have a free access to all the medical cares.

Now look back and see if you should feel proud of being born in the Kingdom of Bhutan? Don’t ever forget that our parents have suffered enough in raising us and now educating us. So if we can’t feel the need to thank them or pay our gratitude, then our very morality of being human is questionable, besides we are doing huge injustice to our own life! Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, I sincerely request you to use the time judiciously, don’t waste time on something which would actually put you into trouble but study well and be somebody that your parents and you would feel proud of. Lets make our country and our parents proud. Ultimately, it is your pride!

Thank you, everybody.