Sunday December 23, 2012

Living one day at a time

SUNDAY STARTERS BY SOO EWE JIN

AND so the world did not end on Dec 21, 2012, which is why I am still able to write, and you are able to read what I have to share.

For all the fuss over this day, we seem to have forgotten that in reality, the world does come to an end for someone, somewhere, all the time.

Many pass on because of old age or other natural causes while babies in some impoverished nations do not even get to see the world for long. People are killed daily due to armed conflicts, both as combatants and as collateral damage.

Terminal illnesses, accidents, natural disasters… the list goes on. And there is nothing more tragic than the loss of young, innocent lives in circumstances that are hard to understand, such as what happened at an elementary school in Connecticut, United States, recently.

But for some people, the end of the world does not necessarily mean one’s departure from this world.

A person who suffers a huge financial loss may believe that his world has truly ended. A person who becomes blind due to an unfortunate accident may take a while to adjust to his disability, before he re-enters the world he thought had abandoned him.

For a young man whose heart is totally broken because his sweetheart has left him for his best friend, the lyrics from The End of The World by Skeeter Davis will ring true as he wonders why the sun is still shining, the birds are still singing and the stars still glow above.

But amidst all that, I often wonder why we all live as if the world will never end. Time and again, we are reminded, especially by the more spiritual people, to live like today is your last day.

What if tomorrow never comes? Yet we continue to put off what we want and need to do. Like catching up with a long-lost friend, saying well done to an employee or telling our better half how much we love her, something we have stopped saying since the honeymoon years.

What about our parents? Has the busyness of our lives crowded out all possibilities to have a chat with our father, or take a meal with our mother?

In the run-up to 21.12.12, we had all sorts of crazy ideas on how to face up to the end of the world. But I wondered if we all gave much thought to how we need to reach out to our loved ones in the spirit of love and forgiveness.

With Christmas just two days away, we have allowed the world to implant in us this very business-driven idea that this is the season for giving, and we crack our heads over what expensive gifts to buy to express our love.

But this is not only the season for giving, but forgiving. In fact, forgiveness is one of those essential actions that we need to do if we truly want to lead a fulfilling life.

It is always good to start on a clean slate, not just in any particular season, but every day.

What if the world ends for that someone you have been meaning to forgive, or would like to seek forgiveness from? You actually wanted to do so, but you always had something more important to do.

Regrets, I have a few, but then again, too few to mention, sang the legendary Frank Sinatra.

The failure to forgive, or to be forgiven, is what makes a life one filled with much regret.

So we all survived 21.12.12. Good. It is now time to remind ourselves that the end of the world not only happens all the time, but we do not know when it will happen in our very own lives.

As we live, one day at a time, may we be encouraged to make every moment count. Reach out, and touch someone’s life today.

> Deputy executive editor Soo Ewe Jin wishes Christian readers a blessed Christmas.

News

Sunday December 23, 2012

Living one day at a time

SUNDAY STARTERS BY SOO EWE JIN