Life is precious.
I was reminded of this again this past week during the disappearance of the airplane MH370. Just like that, it vanished along with the 239 passengers and crew. I knew two of those on board and when I found out that there were people I knew, it really hit home.
We can feel like we’re so in control of our lives. We can schedule our days so precisely from the time we wake up to the time we sleep. We can do everything we can to ensure our safety and security. We can live a healthy lifestyle and have proper work-life balance.
But at the end of the day, it’s not always possible to control the situation around you; you can merely affect the probabilities of occurrences. The healthiest guy you know can suddenly be hit with invasive cancer and have four months to live. Even if you drive safely, you can’t control the other drunk driver who slams into you with his off-road vehicle.
The only surety in life once you are born is that you will die someday. Life is short and because of this, there’s so much more meaning in every moment that we’re alive.
To wake up in the morning and breathe in the fresh air. To have clean water to bathe and money to buy a Subway breakfast set. To be able to do a good day’s work. To be home on time for dinner, and be able to make out with your wife at the door when she greets you, then give your kids bone-crushing bear hugs. To dig in to a hot, home-cooked meal. To sleep in a soft bed with newly washed sheets.
There’s so much that we take for granted in our lives when every moment can be special. Reading some of the articles on deathbed regrets which have been going around, it’s clear that many of us are not living lives where if it ended today, we’d have little regrets with how we’ve lived.
It’s not even about doing crazy things like in the movies where people quit their jobs, go backpacking for six months in a foreign country, do bungee jumping and skydiving, and see all the corners of the world. If that’s what it takes for you to feel like you’ve lived fully, then some expectations need to be managed.
It’s about love. Being able to love those around you so fully without holding back. Love that changes people and hearts. Love that gives hope to the hopeless. Love that builds strong relationships. Love that leaves a legacy.
I think that’s what keeps me going when I want to give up. I think about those who mean the most to me. My wife. My daughters. My parents and siblings. My relatives. My friends. And I remember why I live and how I want to live.
I work so I can provide for my loved ones.
I let my wife and kids know they mean everything to me because…they do.
I serve in church because I love my Jesus.
I even exercise to stay healthy so that I have a better chance of seeing my future grandchildren get married.
And to be honest, it's also pretty much the only reason why I continue to write in this blog. Practically no one writes anymore. All my friends have stopped and blogging is a dying art. I get so busy and distracted from writing because it really does take time and effort.
But then I think about what would happen if something unexpected happened to me. I would want my wife to be able to read back and remember the things we went through. And more significantly, I would want my daughters to be able to grow up having a glimpse into my thoughts and my love for them, and hopefully be stronger for it.
This is the primary reason why this blog is still alive. It’s not to encourage the readers. It’s not to build up in order to monetise. It’s not even my original intention to help structure my confused thoughts anymore because I don't have time for such self-reflection ever since having kids.
Hopefully, it will become part of a worthwhile legacy to my children especially if I suddenly vanished for some reason or other.
In the meantime, I’ll be visiting my friends’ family tonight with no idea of what words to say.
Continue praying for the passengers MH370. Continue to believe and hope for a miracle.
Sometimes, hope is all we have left but if I were left with nothing but one thing, I’d want it to be hope.
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