HUMAN life spans are relatively short. In the present day, a person who lives to 100 years of age is considered exceptionally fortunate. Average life expectancies are defined differently from country to country. Similarly, for Myanmar citizens, international organizations — such as the World Bank — have conducted research and recorded projected life expectancies.
According to World Bank records, the projected life expectancy for Myanmar citizens in 2021 was 66.51 years. In 2022, it was 66.89 years, and in 2023, it reached 67.96 years. In 2025, life expectancy is projected to be 68.14 years, which is an increase of 0.26 per cent compared to the 2024 projection. The rise in life expectancy indicates that people living in the country are increasingly able to meet their basic needs. When basic needs are fulfilled, individuals continue striving for their own well-being and for a better quality of life. As a result, positive outcomes emerge, and these outcomes in turn become the driving force for further improvements.
Everyone, regardless of whether their life is complete or lacking, tends to hold a desire to improve what they have. Even a person surrounded by poverty and hardship still wishes, at some point, to rise above that situation and take ownership of a better life. This genuine determination not to give up on one’s life is, in itself, a human virtue. It is this desire for a better life that enables people to continue living their respective lives and contributes to longer life spans.
Just as we ourselves have the desire to value and hold on to our own life and lifespan, we must also remember that other people and other living beings wish to protect and value their lives as well. An individual holds immeasurable worth, and it should be understood that once a life has ended, that value no longer exists in the same way. Therefore, one’s life is one’s own dignity. As such, we must have empathy and recognize that others will also cherish and value theirs just as we do.
When one develops such empathy, one will understand that just as we do not wish to harm our own life, we should not, under any circumstances, commit actions that harm the life of another person. This is the essence of compassion, and acting with compassion in all matters will spread goodwill and respect toward us. Everyone should strive to act in this way, as our actions play an important role in contributing to peace and harmony for ourselves as well as for our society.
