On the Last Day of the Year: 2017
It was the last day of the year. That time when you get wishes from friends and relatives saying that they will be praying that your year ahead will be a good one. That time of the year when you wish the same for them. That time of year when you are overtaken by a moment of nostalgia which forces you to reminisce for a brief moment only to find that that might not be such a good place to go at this time. That time of the year when you make resolutions. I do not need to explain what happens to these resolutions.
This year’s last day was a real emotional roller-coaster ride and it involved two young men: a tale of joy and a moment of tragedy.
On the morning of the last day of 2017, it was a Sunday, Ain (my beloved wife) contacted an old college friend to coordinate a time for them to meet at the wedding reception held by mutual friend, also from college days. They made a pact and a hour or so later, we left for Putrajaya. We got as far as Sungai Besi when her phone rang. From the tone of her voice, I immediately knew that something was very wrong. Her friend with whom she spoke earlier informed Ain that her son had passed away. Apparently, when he did not awaken till it was late this morning, Ain’s friend went to wake up her son but he did not stir. She suspected something was wrong, so she got her other son to try. The boy went in to discover that his brother had passed away in his sleep. He was in his early twenties and he had just finished his internship after completing his studies. At that time, we had to proceed to the wedding reception where her other college friends were waiting to meet up and reminisce about old times.
We got to Putrajaya and found the hall. The wedding was a pleasant one and the joy felt by the families of the bride and groom was easily seen. Ain’s friend was the mother of the groom. The groom and the bride had just finished studying overseas. I think they studied in Ireland where they read medicine. The groom, and the bride also, I think, was of the same age as the boy who passed away that morning. I could not help but remark to myself how strange the juxtaposition of emotions felt: one of great joy, a celebration of life, the marking of the beginning of a new life, and on the other hard the anguish and sorrow of losing one much beloved. It is more acutely felt because he was taken in the prime of his life and without any warning whatsoever.
We made our way to the home of the deceased from Putrajaya. There a prayer was held while waiting for the remains of the deceased to be brought back from the hospital. I was told that there was a delay due for some reason involving an autopsy which was understandable. They told me that the boy had partaken in sports the evening before and all seemed swell.
Online, I see my friends speculating as to what the coming year will hold: what joys and what sorrows will it bring?
I have long read of the such ideas as the Roda Sansara: life is like a spinning wheel with happiness (the top) and sorrow (the bottom) taking their turn in perpetuity, but it is not until circumstances like these occur that you begin to realise just how fast that wheel is turning.
So, to the questions I read online, my answer is this: there will be great joy, there will be great sadness, there will be birth and new life, there will be bright candles extinguished in an instant. This is life and it will persist with no regard to our desires and wishes. Life is that inattentive parent who drags us by our hands with us barely toddling along behind. We will fall and scrape our hearts. We may find cotton candy handed to us. We may or may not have time to enjoy that stick of cotton candy. We may bawl our eyes out if we lose our grip and that ball of cotton-candy falls to the floor. We may make it out of 2018 alive. We may not. None of this matter. What matters then?
The answer is simple: those whom we love and those who love us back. In the end that is all that matters.
This year’s last day was a real emotional roller-coaster ride and it involved two young men: a tale of joy and a moment of tragedy.
On the morning of the last day of 2017, it was a Sunday, Ain (my beloved wife) contacted an old college friend to coordinate a time for them to meet at the wedding reception held by mutual friend, also from college days. They made a pact and a hour or so later, we left for Putrajaya. We got as far as Sungai Besi when her phone rang. From the tone of her voice, I immediately knew that something was very wrong. Her friend with whom she spoke earlier informed Ain that her son had passed away. Apparently, when he did not awaken till it was late this morning, Ain’s friend went to wake up her son but he did not stir. She suspected something was wrong, so she got her other son to try. The boy went in to discover that his brother had passed away in his sleep. He was in his early twenties and he had just finished his internship after completing his studies. At that time, we had to proceed to the wedding reception where her other college friends were waiting to meet up and reminisce about old times.
We got to Putrajaya and found the hall. The wedding was a pleasant one and the joy felt by the families of the bride and groom was easily seen. Ain’s friend was the mother of the groom. The groom and the bride had just finished studying overseas. I think they studied in Ireland where they read medicine. The groom, and the bride also, I think, was of the same age as the boy who passed away that morning. I could not help but remark to myself how strange the juxtaposition of emotions felt: one of great joy, a celebration of life, the marking of the beginning of a new life, and on the other hard the anguish and sorrow of losing one much beloved. It is more acutely felt because he was taken in the prime of his life and without any warning whatsoever.
We made our way to the home of the deceased from Putrajaya. There a prayer was held while waiting for the remains of the deceased to be brought back from the hospital. I was told that there was a delay due for some reason involving an autopsy which was understandable. They told me that the boy had partaken in sports the evening before and all seemed swell.
Online, I see my friends speculating as to what the coming year will hold: what joys and what sorrows will it bring?
I have long read of the such ideas as the Roda Sansara: life is like a spinning wheel with happiness (the top) and sorrow (the bottom) taking their turn in perpetuity, but it is not until circumstances like these occur that you begin to realise just how fast that wheel is turning.
So, to the questions I read online, my answer is this: there will be great joy, there will be great sadness, there will be birth and new life, there will be bright candles extinguished in an instant. This is life and it will persist with no regard to our desires and wishes. Life is that inattentive parent who drags us by our hands with us barely toddling along behind. We will fall and scrape our hearts. We may find cotton candy handed to us. We may or may not have time to enjoy that stick of cotton candy. We may bawl our eyes out if we lose our grip and that ball of cotton-candy falls to the floor. We may make it out of 2018 alive. We may not. None of this matter. What matters then?
The answer is simple: those whom we love and those who love us back. In the end that is all that matters.
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