Life

Almost certainly, the only times people talk about life is when deaths occur. And when life occurs, no one would ever give a thought about death.

Life is 100% fatal, but that is one of the reasons we cherish life so much. We all know that there's an expiry date for our organic bodies, but nobody knows whether their due dates are 50 years, 10 years, 1 year, 1 week or 1 second from now. Actuaries may look up tables to calculate your statistical odds of living to a particular age, but for practical purpose death, or life for that matter, is a sheer uncertainty. It's this very uncertainty, however, that gives us comfort, that confers us with the precious hope and bright outlook on life, that propels us to live life to the fullest. We know that hopefully, there is a long way ahead of us, a life akin to a box of chocolate. So we live, knowing that when we close our eyes every night, we will rather certainly wake up the next morning and live for another day.

But life is never fair. Some of us are unfortunate enough to be robbed of the hope of uncertainty. For some, what dawns upon them is the certainty that their loved ones would be gone in a year or two, as their bodies are rummaged by rebellious cells that won't give up dividing or attacking other cells. No, no soap drama is required to learn more. Just imagine having to prepare for your imminent death in a few months from now. Imagine the fear of the knowledge that you will lose your loved one any time from now. Imagine losing your closest one tomorrow morning. Imagine feeling your body fail you. I wouldn't even allow myself to linger in such thoughts for an extra moment.

Death is debilitating, more so to the people around the deceased. As we go through the cycles of live, we relish, relieve, relive and finally relinquish. The dead will not come back to life, but who are we to say that their lives only lived on their bodies? Gone are their breaths, but their souls are within us, their spirits live on.

Through deaths, we strive to see more in lives. I dedicate this to my bereaved friends. May they gain more strength through the difficult moments.


p/s: I wanted to post more on my birthdays and new year, but due to recent events I had to delay those posts.