Live Life by George Tolentino Gabriel [SAMPLE]

SAY GOODBYE TO SHORTCUTS

I RECENTLY VISITED my cousins in Sydney, Australia. They live in a beautiful suburb with a mini-mall just around the corner. It’s a good two-minute walk from their house. But if you pass through the path just beside their house, you’ll be there in less than half the time.

The difference is the scenery.

If you take the shortcut, you don’t really see much. Just a narrow walkway with fences on both sides. Nothing to appreciate, really.

But if you take the long way — the scenic route — it’s so much nicer on the eyes. You see a wide open road, beautiful houses, a park with children playing, and a majestic sky embracing it all. You have a moment of wonder.

That’s the problem with shortcuts. You get there faster, but you miss out on a lot.

When I was in grade school, I didn’t like to read much. Especially when it was for Filipino class. So instead of reading the actual books ofNoli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, I read the comics version. It had all the highlights.

And surprisingly enough, I aced the final exam! Now, on the surface, it may seem that I’d met the goal. But I believe I missed out on the real point. I missed out on the value of reading. I also may have missed out on some of the beautiful intricacies and details that the author included in the book that didn’t come out in the comics.

I’ll say it again: When you take a shortcut, you’re most likely to miss out on the important stuff.

If you take a shortcut to wealth and just wait for your lottery ticket to win or for an inheritance to come, you lose out on learning the dignity of hard work, sacrifice and true success.

If you take a shortcut in your health by relying on some magic drink, you miss out on the value of exercise and eating right.

If you take a shortcut to success by getting into a position just because “you know somebody” and didn’t really deserve it, you miss out on earning people’s respect and loyalty. That’s bound to bite you in the behind one day.

If you take a shortcut in a relationship and go straight to the physical aspect, you miss out on discovering the true inner beauty of that person.

In all of these instances, the world may consider you to be a winner, but in the end, the real loser is you.

My advice: Do yourself a favor and say goodbye to shortcuts.

Take the long route.

Take the scenic route.

There are so many things God wants to show us if we are patient enough to go about things the right way.

Start walking… and enjoy every second of the journey.