If you save a life, you save the world.

The Talmud has a saying: "If you save a life, you save the world."

This is true. Look at the 12 little Wild Boars and their beloved coach. All saved by the Navy Seal rescuers, ready to put their lives on the line.

One diver Saman Gunan even gave his life to save them. Indeed, the spirit of "no greater love than this" is deeply encouraging, and we are indebted to such exceptional bravery and sacrifice. 

We also have the local community coming together to lend any aid they could humanly provide. 

In the past 17 days, the world witnessed the best of humanity at work. One local farmer even cheerily allowed the drained water from the cave to overflood her field knowing that it would ruin her harvest. 

In a press conference, this heart-warming observation was made:- 

"People who washed clothes for the Seal unit. People who brought up noodles to the rescue base. People who picked up trash in the area. All Thais will remember this, and this should be a lesson in how Thailand should move forward in the future." 

And, if I may say, how the world should move forward in the future. 

In fact, one local resident, Mr Thirawit, 44, told ST this: "In Mae Sai, nobody is watching the World Cup. Instead, they are watching the rescue operation and counting down on how many have been rescued. This is definitely more exciting than the World Cup."

Levity aside, the world community also sent their best to assist in the rescue effort. It reports that "the rescue team numbered in the hundreds, and included divers and specialists from around the world, who came as soon as they heard to lend their help."

And the Talmudic saying here is multiplied manifold since it is not just one life saved, but many, including the doctor and the divers who went into the cave to provide the kids and coach with food supplies. And the world is better for it, she is richer, brighter and more resilient. 

The stories of their courage and love will send ripples through the chronology of time. 

One foreign diver said that the kids were "incredibly strong". "They are getting forced to do something that no kid has ever done before. It is not in any way normal for kids to go cave diving at age 11."

One BBC reporter (Mr Karadzic) who had been stationed near the cave and helping to guide the people through the terrain said this with great relief: -

"I cannot understand how cool these small kids are, you know? Thinking about how they have been kept in a small cave for two weeks, they haven't seen their mums. Incredibly strong kids. Unbelievable, almost."

Lesson? Just one. 

There is saying that "altruism is like rings in the water when you toss a pebble. At first the circles are very small, then they get larger, and finally they embrace the entire surface of the ocean" (Alexandre Jollien). 

This is in line with the Talmud about how the world is saved by the souls of courage, of resilience and of an overcoming spirit. 

While this rescue effort is not an everyday event, the rich narrative it speaks about is what this world desperately needs to nudge it towards a better tomorrow for our children, that is, a world that is less about self and more about others, and a world that does not blindly chase after the mighty dollar, mindlessly betray relationships just because it is convenient, and callously hoards wealth to build an island of extravagance and arrogance to flaunt at all and sundry. 

Alas, the Tower of Babel is all about self-prominence, but Calvary is about self-sacrifice. And while the tower is gone, the one who hangs on the Cross is still a city of light on the hill. 

True, what this world need is not another lecture, another speech or another self-improvement seminar. 

The reality is, the self doesn't need any more improvement. It needs to put itself out there and make a difference, anywhere and everywhere, in the marriage, in the family, in the workplace, and in the community. 

Here is a fact: The world is looking for happiness, and many in the well-off estates have found it. 

A poll in 2014 noted that the rich in the developed countries are largely happy, secure and lacking in nothing. But this poll also noted that suicide rates are also higher amongst them. For example, suicide rates in high per capita Japan is higher than third world country like Sierra Leone. 

The poll researchers were in fact puzzled over this social phenomenon until they dug deeper and realised as a whole that happiness does not solve our existential vacuum. Meaning does.

The search of happiness is ultimately a mirage, because what is deemed as a lifelong search is no more than the refusal to admit (or see) that happiness has never been lost in the hugs of our loved ones, the longing for us in their eyes, the touch of true love, the joy of a simple meal together, and the holding of hands in times of adversity. 

For there is nothing more joyously rewarding than an overcoming love. 

Oh, what trial can separate the joy that priceless love brings to a soul who embraces it fully, unconditionally, and faithfully. 

The happiness that humans crave after is averse to adversity. It has little resilience for it. Its courage is limited to keeping suffering at a distance.

But a life of meaning, a life that is fortified by love and joy in overcoming, takes adversity as they come (and they will come) and grows in step with it, and outpaces it eventually. 

Such life of meaning never ceases to marvel and inspire the world (like the rescuers above) because they do not seek after the happiness of one (self) but spread joy of many. And that is why the saving of one life is saving of the world. 

Let me end with this thought. 

"I don't know what your destiny will be," said Albert Schweitzer to a group of schoolboys, "but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."

Truly, the best of humanity is when we give and not take, when we love and not hate, when we share and not hoard, and when we live an overcoming life for meaning and growth and not build a hedge around ourselves to keep adversity at bay. Cheerz