A First Wake up Call...
During the month of May, a dear cousin of mine lost her mom suddenly in an accident, hospital negligence. The heartbreak was a shock to everyone. In fact this May, summer was severe on many of us as I had attended one too many funerals.
This accident was abrupt and certainly astonishing after an operation, when she was recouping. It drove home the comprehension that you just don't know when a loved one is no longer going to be with you. We sometimes take our love ones for granted, and we imagine that they will be with us forever. Immortality is in vain for humans, but we all live believing that we are,until death come to pass to us. Vanitycan drive the dream of immortality, but more often than not it is the craving to live for others that fuels the dream. However, as we all know, life does not work that way and sometimes we get a wake up call that shocks us and makes us stand back and realize how diminutivelife is.
In consoling her, I tried to envisage if I was in her shoes how would I feel. It was impossible to visualize what she was going through. What words do I say to help her? A hug can sometimes express more than our words will ever express. Well to help ease the pain I did give her a Hug to comfort her, but she could not stop her sobs and pain of loss. I have over a period of time become very cynicalof death. It was my father’s death that shifted my perceptiveness of time, the moment of facing our own mortality, and knowing that the clock is ticking. Sometimes words just can not express our feelings. Sometimes our actions are much more meaningful than words. Sometimes, just being there to listen is more meaningful and helpful to people.
A Second Wake up Call
As I was leaving the funeral ground on that scorching hot summer afternoon, I ran into Matheen. Matheen has been a true friend to me over the years. He is one of those friends who is with you in the good times and is always by your side in the bad times. He has a sense of humor that makes everyone laugh and He makes everyone feel at ease. We chit chatted for a few moments as we drove back; He asked me how my job was. So I started talking and talking and talking and I am sure He wished He had never asked, ha. I was having a taxing week with my job and I was telling him all the issues and how I was feeling regarding the death of my aunt.
He listened to me as I was gibbering about my frustrations, then without saying a word, He took my hands into his hands, and said to me, "But at least you had a day.", as he left me to bid me good byes. What Was the Question MarkI had on my face. All the frustrations, all the stress that was building up inside of me - came to a complete stand still. Tick tock, tick tock. Life is Short.
The touch of his hands, the calmness in his voice, and the words he spoke, "BUT AT LEAST YOU HAD A DAY", hit me like a ton of bricks. And see in your mind's eye, my state when I heard that He was suffering from Kidney failure and had died after a week. No! Not yet!He was not ready, He was so young, full of life, and there are still too many things he was waiting to do! And At no time during that few moments I splurged with him, did he grumble, whine, and complain to me of his state or his health or the suffering he was undergoing. Our response to those silent requests, to do something that seems too petty to waste valuable time, on leads to situations like what I faced. We feel as though we are busy all those days, but that's not something that is new.
Since that day, when I start feeling stressed, I hark back myself to Matheen's words - but at least I had a day! Things could be a lot worse, the stress of the situation always could be worse, but I am alive and I have a lot to be thankful for - so I shall not waste my days with stress and frustrations - Because, without a doubt,Life is too short!In fact too short to even read this Post. LoL
