by Rev. Dr. Mariano C. Apilado
What a title for a column this week! Actually, the title is an abridgement of a book I bought this week. The complete title is The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, by US television personality John Izzo.
I was browsing in the National Bookstore at the SM Mall in Ecoland when I read that the book was one of the best sellers last week.
After I bought it, one of my friends saw me reading it and asked, “Are you thinking of that?” By “that” my friend was referring to “before you die.” Was I thinking of dying?
Another friend remarked, “Probably, you are thinking of the secrets you have not discovered that you want to discover before you die.”
Actually, I was more interested in what the author, who has advanced degrees in religion and psychology, has to say about what really matters in life, what moves people.
For the author, the five secrets are (1) be true to yourself, (2) leave no regrets, (3) become love, (4) live the moment and (5) give more than you take.
John Izzo discovered these secrets as a result of interviews of more than 200 people ages 60-106 who had found happiness and meaning in their life.
Those interviewed had found happiness and meaning, and, at the time of the interview, were looking forward to more of the same, believing that while they are now enjoying, the best years of life are yet to come.
The book, the author explains, has a simple premise: “We do not have to wait until we are old to become wise. We can discover life’s secrets at any age, and the sooner we discover them, the more fulfilling our life will be.”
The author also says that the title was chosen not lightly, but with serious consideration. The first part of the title, “The Five Secrets” states an important discovery of the author that “all happy and wise people eventually discover and live these secrets.”
The second part, “before you die” is an important reminder of the urgency before very long, at any age, “what really matters” and then live, pursue and be determined to put into practice what really matters in their life.
George Bernard Shaw has been quoted as having said, “Youth is a wonderful thing; it is a pity it is wasted on the young.”
What could George Barnard Shaw have meant by that observation? Could it be that it often takes a life time to learn how to live, and when one has learned the most important lessons, one is often too old to practice what one has learned?
So what do the five secrets, (1) be true to yourself, (2) leave no regrets, (3) become love, (4) live the moment and (5) give more than you take mean, and how does one live them?
Those interviewed and the stories that the author relates reminds me of Dr. Evelyn Fabie who was described during the latest celebration of her birthday as one who had the body of a 75-year old but the curious mind of a 5-year old.
The book presents an important challenge that we need not wait until we are old to discover what these secrets mean, know wisdom, learn what really matters and find happiness and meaning.
A 5-year old child can begin to know the five secrets, live them and find happiness and meaning!
