Kickstarter #8 - Realisation of Finality

Life is punctuated with commas. A chapter of life may close, then a new one unfolds. The story goes on. The question is - How many more commas do we have ahead of us?

We will never know would be? Look at the recent natural calamities in Myanmar and China? Lives snuffed out just like that. It wasn’t just a fullstop for the many lives lost in these two disasters, it was an exclamation mark. Accidents are accented because there’s no telling when. Sometimes, there’s very little or no reason. About a year back, the pre-mature departure of five young dragonboaters in the prime of life. It’s less harsh with illness and old age, but regardless of how our life winds down, there is much pain and grief for those who continue living.

The underlining factor is ‘finality’. If you see life on earth as long drawn suffering, full of heartaches, discomforts and pain, it’s but for a time. Just as foods have their expiry dates, our lives have them too. It seems ironic that I’m talking about the end of our days in our Kickstarter for Life series. But just this realisation that there will come a time when life on earth comes to a complete stop, should make you sit up and wonder what life and this lifetime is really about.

It’s good to live for the here and now, when we’re embracing all of what life has in store for us. But what’s even better is when you know that your life on earth has been led to the fullest and most worthwhile when your time is up. I was at the wake of an aunt last weekend and was encouraged by her husband's testimony of how fully she'd led her life, especially in the closing years of her life while battling cancer. Isn't that wonderful?

Have you conquered your fears? Can you say, "I've been there, done that"? Or are you crippled with fear of everything that's unfamiliar? How then can you say you've lived life to the fullest? It's like scraping the cream of a slice of cake, eating it, and saying you've had your cake and eaten it. What about honing your skills to the best of your ability? Have you served others and attended to their needs? Have you prepared for the next journey where time is no longer an issue?

Just the recognition of the brevity of life ought to be impetus for you to determine what really matters in life, and to pursue those matters decisively and wholeheartedly.

I propose a toast that you live your life wisely and selflessly and invest in the things that matter beyond the here and now.