My Last Will And Testament > IDEAS & IDEALS

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My dear children;

      I have told you so often about the importance of preparedness for anything in advance, and the time seems to have come to write my last will and testament. You may think it is a little bit too early for me to do it and I too thought so until quite recently, but a sudden death of one of my close friends has hastened me to think otherwise.

     And to tell you the truth, I am not what I used to be. My eyes are not dim yet, but they are not so keen as before. I cannot eat much, nor digest so well. The foods, once so delicious are not so tasty as they were. I groan whenever I sit down on the sofa in spite of myself and get up with an effort. I feel out of breath when walking up some stairs. Often I fail to remember people's names and forget sometimes even my telephone numbers. All these and many other signs and symptoms behove me to admit my age.

      And besides, upon arriving at sixty next year, I feel like having a period of peace and quiet to take stock of not only my personal wealth that I have accumulated in my lifetime, but also of my life itself and to think of fair and wise way of dividing my fortune among you. For the parents to bequeath a substantial fortune to their children is as much important as to make it. I have seen and heard that the unfair and unwise distribution of one's wealth among his children is often the very seed of the ugly family disputes and misfortunes. I therefore would like to do it now when my physical as well as mental faculties are still in a dependable condition, especially when my power of memory remains keen and sound, and make it public here so that there could be many witnesses if there arose any misunderstandings and contentions when I am gone.

My dear children;

      Having examined all my movable and immovable properties carefully, however, I have found, to my great regret and distress, that I have virtually nothing to leave for you. There are two major reasons for this disappointing situation. One is that I was born of a very poor family, and the other is that we, I and your mother, have spent all the money that has been made in feeding, clothing, housing, educating, and finally marrying you off. Marrying off a daughter in this country nowadays, you know, costs her parents a fortune, and remember you are three.

But, children;

      Don't be disappointed. Rather rejoice in what you have already received from your poor parents and in what is given to you. Be greatly thankful for being born with the stout body and strong mind with which to enjoy your life to the full. Be infinitely grateful for being given the physical as well as the mental faculties with which to do, to know and recognize, to perceive and appreciate, to comprehend and express. What is the wealth of the whole world, if the change of seasons, flowers in spring, the verdure of trees in summer, leaves turning red and gold in autumn, branches laden with a heavy burden of snow in winter, and the soft touch of an infant, the carefree laughter of children, the divine human faces - all these are denied to you?

But, my dear children;

      You are greatly wrong and mistaken, if you really think that your parents will leave this world without leaving you anything behind. Quite the reverse is true. The property we are going to bequeath to each of you is so huge and immense in its quantity and value that you will not be able to exhaust it in your lifetime. I inherited the wealth from my parents but they did not tell me anything about it when they were alive, and quite recently I came to the knowledge that I am a natural heir to this fabulous wealth. I am going to reveal it to you now. Be attentive and remember well.

       First of all, I bequeath to you all, equally and fairly, the wealth of nature: the earth, the sea, the sky, the rivers, and all the auxiliary and subsidiary properties pertaining to each of these. But, my dear children, forgive me. I have not kept this sacred property so well. I have wasted, abused and defiled much of it. When I had inherited all these from my parents, they were in a much better condition. I apologize deeply for the harm and damage I have inflicted on the sanctity, beauty and purity of my inherited property simply because I was poor, ignorant and greedy. But I sincerely hope and firmly believe that this sacred property will restore its former glory promptly under your tender care and better treatment, and that you will be able to hand it down to your children with pride when your time comes. One of the duties and purposes of one's life on this earth is to leave a better world to his sons.

      Next to nature, my children, I bequeath, with pride and without shame, the wealth of art: the works of the great painters and their refined world of colors, shapes and forms; of the great musicians and their magic world of sounds; and of the great writers and their world of human suffering and humanity. My dear children. I avidly tried to consume some of these treasures of art, but I find none of them show any signs of decrease or diminution in its quantity or value. They are permanent, everlasting, unexhaustive fountain of pleasure that never betrays those who love them.

My dear children;

       There is one more item to be mentioned in addition to nature and art. Without this, I dare say, the wealth that the other two brings to you is pointless and ungrounded. Therefore, I bequeath to each of you, equally and fairly, happiness of family and social life: the bliss and joy of love and parenthood, respect for your spouse, for your elders, and for the old customs and traditions, and the pleasure of friendship.

My dear children;

      Here I end my last will and testament. Now you will realize anew that you have received enough from your parents. More than enough. However hard you may try, you may not be able to exhaust the noble heritage and inheritance in your lifetime. Only try to make them better by using them well and wisely during your lifetime. Be happy, my children. But if unhappy things happen to you, try to be cheerful. You may not be happy always, but you can be cheerful, if you have a will to be so. Weep when grief comes to you, but do not allow your sorrow to be the master of your better being, however deep and strong it may be. I pray you may have the power and wisdom to realize that all our noisy years on this planet are but moments in the being of the eternal silence.
                      (May 5, 1999)