Outsidethe Bible, these six words are the most famous in all the literature of theworld. They were spoken by Hamlet when he was thinking aloud, and they are themost famous words in Shakespeare because Hamlet was speaking not only forhimself but also for every thinking man and woman. To be or not to be, to liveor not to live, to live richly and abundantly and eagerly, or to live dully andmeanly and scarcely. A philosopher once wanted to know whether he was alive ornot, which is a good question for everyone to put to himself occasionally. Heanswered it by saying: "I think, therefore am."
Butthe best definition of existence ever saw did another philosopher who said:"To be is to be in relations." If this true, then the more relationsa living thing has, the more it is alive. To live abundantly means simply toincrease the range and intensity of our relations. Unfortunately we are soconstituted that we get to love our routine. But apart from our regularoccupation how much are we alive? If you are interest-ed only in your regularoccupation, you are alive only to that extent. So far as other things areconcerned--poetry and prose, music, pictures, sports, unselfish friendships,politics, international affairs--you are dead.
Contrariwise,it is true that every time you acquire a new interest--even more, a newaccomplishment--you increase your power of life. No one who is deeplyinterested in a large variety of subjects can remain unhappy; the realpessimist is the person who has lost interest.
Baconsaid that a man dies as often as he loses a friend. But we gain new life bycontacts, new friends. What is supremely true of living objects is only lesstrue of ideas, which are also alive. Where your thoughts are, there will yourlive be also. If your thoughts are confined only to your business, only to yourphysical welfare, only to the narrow circle of the town in which you live, thenyou live in a narrow cir-conscribed life. But if you are interested in what isgoing on in China, then you are living in China~ if you’re interested in thecharacters of a good novel, then you are living with those highly interestingpeople, if you listen intently to fine music, you are away from your immediatesurroundings and living in a world of passion and imagination.
Tobe or not to be--to live intensely and richly, merely to exist, that depends onourselves. Let widen and intensify our relations. While we live, let live!
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