The Meaning of Life and My Lightbulb Moment

Today I was reading Alma 57 and 58 in the Book of Mormon, about the 2000 Ammonite young men who chose to join the Nephite armies to fight for the freedom and protection of their families - their parents and siblings.  They had never fought, yet they did not fear death.  But what I found really inspiring was their determination to go forth to battle against a powerful Lamanite army, despite the very real possibility of losing their lives.  In the end, none of them were killed in battle, but all of them were badly wounded.  It just made me think about life.  One life lost is only a small loss for an army at war, but for the individual it is HUGE.  That's it.  THAT was their one chance at life.  They probably had plans and aspirations for the future, but they could have had their ONE chance at life cut short, because they chose to make the sacrifice for the good of others.  It's really amazing for each and every soldier today that makes that choice, to fight in a war and risk death for the sake of others.  

I really pondered this deeply in regards to these very young soldiers - what would be the summation of their short lives?  It made me think about my own life.  How would I feel if my life, my ONE and only chance, was nipped in the bud?  I mean, could I voluntarily put my life on the line like that, even for a good cause?  MY life, my ONE chance.  What would my life up to that point have meant?  Would it have been enough?

As I pondered this, and thought of these soldiers, I realised that I have been placing a lot of value on what I achieve in life, or hope to achieve.  Even worse, sometimes I'm more concerned about what I can acquire - a comfortable home, a nice car, new things.  But that's not really what life is about.  No, the most important thing is actually who I become.  That's what I need to be worrying about, and putting my time and effort into.  That's what I need to be placing value on.  It doesn't matter what career I have, what achievements I attain, where I live, or what I wear.  The meaning of life lies in changing who we are.  Changing to become better.  Changing to become someone who cares about others.  Who is able to forgive.  Who sincerely desires the best for everyone.  Someone who doesn't give up easily, who values hard work.  Someone who is able to feel gratitude for the smallest things.

We all imagine living until we're old and grey, but we just don't know when our time will be up.  We need to be having fulfilling experiences now, every day.

It has really changed my perspective about my life and what I hope to do with it.  I don't have to achieve things to have value as a person.  I don't need to acquire things.  I just need to be a better person every day, and hope that when my time comes to leave mortality I will have travelled far enough in this journey to be able to say that I made my life count.