Mary Bailey White

What is the driving force in my life? I often ask myself this thought-provoking question. Is it perfection, happiness, money, love or what? The list could go on and on, and hopefully today I will come closer to figuring this out.

Perfection, the perfect grades, perfect life, and perfect hair. Perfection could quite possibly be the driving force of my life. If I had perfect grades, that would lead to a perfect scholarship at the perfect university. The scholarship to the perfect university might allow me to get the perfect job and henceforth the perfect life. If I had the perfect life, I would have the time and money to have the perfect hair. But something else seems to be calling me, something more than mere perfect hair and the perfect life. So perfection is not the driving force I my life, and my search goes on.

Happiness. I am sure many people would say that happiness is the driving force of their life. "I just want to be happy" you hear over and over, but happiness is a choice. I can be happy wherever I am. True, in some places it is harder to make that choice, but the choice to be happy is there just waiting for me to take it. So I do not think that happiness can be the driving force in my life, because I know it is there all the time waiting for me to make the choice to be happy, and so my search goes on.

Money. I am sure that this could be the driving force in my life. With more money I would not need the perfect grades because I could pay for the perfect university, and I could go to any length to get perfect hair. It seems like money would make me happy, but I know people who have tons of money, but just keep downing the pills and buying more cars. They seem overcome by the illusion that their money is their happiness and yet they do not seem to be able to make that choice until one more car. No, I don’t think that money is the driving force of my life. Yes,. it would be nice, but money does not make life perfect, and the idea that it does not make life perfect is what makes us want it, and what makes us miserable when we realize it doesn’t. So money is not the driving force of my life, and my search goes on.

Love. Wow! Could this be it? Nothing is greater than love. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of love and how I should live my life. All Jesus did was love everybody and everything, including those who were hated by others, as well as his friends. I would like nothing more in my life than to say I loved everyone I met. What would be the point of perfection if I had not loved along the way? Could I truly be happy if I was mean and cruel to everyone? And would money be important if I went through life without loving anyone? With love, the choice for happiness is sure, money is sure, and perfection is found. And that is why I want to love, so happiness is sure, money is just necessary, and perfection is within my reach.