Just as the compass needle

Folks liken life to a path. As a famous hit song puts it, it would be a blessing if we could always tread the path covered with beautiful flower petals with every step taken. The truth is, moments of life sometimes remind us of damps, deserts and valleys.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, lived a life of being mired in swamps and deserts. Not only he was a two-time loser in business but also it took seven losses in presidential elections for him to be elected president of the United States. His mother passed away when he was a teenager. After coming of age, he lost his fiancée and sister. His heart was broken once again in middle age when his second and third sons died. The elite ridiculed and looked down on Lincoln all the way during his political life. It may partly explain why Lincoln suffered severe depression.

Even in Lincoln's life smudged with agony and adversity, the most difficult challenge was posed by the end of the Civil War and slavery in the United States, which could affect the fate of the divided nation. Leading radical revolutionist Thaddeus Stevens called upon Lincoln, who stood at a life-determining moment of decision making, to take a strong approach. He advised that a national leader is supposed to present citizens who do not know the rights and wrongs with vision and goals that he can push forward with.

The line above is what Lincoln replied to Stevens. Lincoln comprehended what values "conviction” carries with it but paid caution to the blinded pursuit of it. His idea was, understanding and persuasion can turn conviction into an achievable "reality.” His belief leads Lincoln to stay cautious about himself during the film – even to the moment when he accomplished the end of war and slavery.

South Korea today is as deeply divided as the United States in the 19th century. This only makes it all the more important to check where the pointer of your life compass directs. Look back to see if you are blinded by your own ideas and arguments and if they have any flaws, just as a compass needle always shakes to teach you directions.