Life is fragile…. everything else don’t seem to matter in the end
Today my parents called me up. They’re in Johor now, my hometown. They told me 2 of their friends passed away – one 40+, cancer while the other one was 60, heart attack but he seemed to be perfectly healthy.
Then I started to wonder. Life is really fragile and short. Everyday we spend our time…it’s just like a journey or a learning experience. But when it’s all done for the day….when you sit down or lie down on your bed (provided you don’t fall asleep straight away) and when you think NOTHING at all – you’ll really feel an emptiness in you. It’s as if whatever happened in the day was written inside a storybook, with you flipping over the pages.
And one day, the book which you’ve been flipping through would surely come to an end.
The time I’ve spent arguing about the project with the UK………cursing the traffic……..getting sad over my falling shares……..worrying over the political situation in Malaysia….. but in the end, all these don’t really matter.
So what if you have tonnes of money? So what if you are the most popular employee? So what if you’re the star performer? So what if you own a Ferrari?
In the end, all these don’t matter. Your money will end up with another person. Your most popular employee position will be replaced by another person. There will always be another star performer. Your Ferrari will either become junk or end up with another owner.
But one thing does matter – your family and your friends. Because to them, you are not someone who can be replaced just like that. That’s why in the end, family and friends are more important than everything else.
Cherish the people close to you. Tell them you’re glad to have met them in this world. I know it sounds strange because few of my friends replied “Are you OK?” after I told them. But well, we’ll never know what might happen in the future. And there’s definitely no harm in saying that earlier.
- To all the blog readers, thanks for visiting this humble blog of mine.
- To my blogosphere friends, I’m really glad that we’ve met in this cyber world. Some of you are actually my close friends now.
- To my teachers, thanks for all the guidance and teachings.
- To my ex-classmates, ex-schoolmates, thanks for all the wonderful moments in life.
- To my colleagues and ex-colleagues, thanks for being patience and thanks for helping me out.
- To my bosses and ex-bosses, thanks for all the guidance and mentoring.
- To my close friends, thanks for listening, helping and being great companions.
- To my family, no need to say, you 3 are always da best in my life.
- To my 2 kura-kura, tomorrow i will feed you 2 again.
So from now on……..take things easy. Because remember, in the end, what matters most is your contribution to the society……..and your position in the heart of your friends and family.
p/s…. no worries, i’m perfectly fine when I wrote this
Glad you finally think through this. I went through something similiar but needed a life-threatening experience to make me realize a lot of things in life does not really matter. Like what you said, what matters are family and friends. I always like to think that, the other “stuff” (which are usually things that irritate the hell out of you and gives stress) exist to make life more interesting. Without it, life would be a lot more boring, wouldn’t it? You won’t have anything to talk about over coffee, you won’t have something to lament about, you won’t have something to laugh your heads over! Life IS short, cherish it.
Hung Siew
10 Sep 08 at 10:05 am
Hmmm… some time ago I learnt that self-reflection guarantees that everyone will run away from me at a party, haha. The “Are you ok” response is a typical attitude that you if you are fine, you are not supposed to be self aware. It means that the finest people are actually unconscious, ideally from whiskey overdose, because they don’t reflect on anything at all. Jokes aside, its good that you take a funeral as a time to reflect. Life is short. Its a universal lesson in impermanence.
Damien Tan
10 Sep 08 at 11:03 am
Yea, life is really fragile. I have a dear friend who passed away more than a year now but i still misses her. Sometimes i wish i had spent more time with her.
martha
10 Sep 08 at 1:03 pm
I am actually feeling very sad these few days. After reading this post of yours, it makes even sadder. HAhaha~
- c H i E n -
10 Sep 08 at 2:21 pm
Dude, relax yourself and take a sip of coffee @ Starbucks… Hehehe… I’m in Starbucks Ikano Power Station sipping my coffee :-p
TZ
10 Sep 08 at 2:52 pm
@ Hung Siew
I think most people go thru such stage…it’s just that whether they are willing to make a change or just let the “flow” controls them. Either way, it is their own decision and should not regret it in the future.
For me, I know what matters to me, and I don’t think i want to waste too much time after this. Just following the “flow” might bring me to where i wan to go…but most probably it might not.
Hahha, life is full of ups n downs…and alot of other stuff to keep us entertained.
Otherwise, as you said, life would become very boring.
@ Damien Tan
When people ask “Are you ok”, you should be happy. Try telling your conerns to them and have them replying “weirdo”. hahaha.
I didn’t attend the funeral. I’ve been thinking about such things since long time ago. I believe since primary school? I always wonder what i wanna do, what is my purpose, etc. But i think now, at 26, i should be taking it more seriously.
@ Martha
Sorry to hear that. I think now, what you can do is to spend more time with your other friends and family. Hope things will be fine for you from here onwards.
@ chien
You’re still very young. Don’t be so sad coz of such things. If you want to be sad, then it’s fine as long as you know the lessons learnt from this.
And hor……….why u said sad but then hahaha in the end =_=”
@ TZ
Wah…enjoying life huh? Starbucks coffee not cheap leh, and i prefer Coffee Bean. No worries mate, I’m perfectly fine.
Alvin Lim
10 Sep 08 at 5:09 pm
Hmmmm… Life is so short. We shouldn’t sweat the small stuff.
Anyway, that’s why I keep my weekend as my weekend. No matter how busy I get, I will take some time off to myself – be it via gym or spending some time with family, friends and pets.
As for the UK project – well, we try to cut them some slack.
Who knows, they are now being threatened by something.
Have a good evening.. I know I’ll have to work OT… Make up for lost time… *boo hoo*…
Angie Tan
10 Sep 08 at 6:02 pm
@ Angie
UK project, yea, maybe they’re having a tough time there as well. That should explain the weird behavior from them.
Alvin Lim
10 Sep 08 at 11:46 pm
Because I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Friends are really important. i am feeling sad because most of them are leaving already….T___T
- c H i E n -
11 Sep 08 at 12:17 am
@ chien
People come n go. It’s alright to be sad, but not for long term. You people can still keep in touch and you’ll meet new friends as well.
Alvin Lim
11 Sep 08 at 10:24 am
I actually hope so. Because a lot of my friends are complaining that it’s very hard to find friends in University.
- c H i E n -s last blog post..OneRepublic
- c H i E n -
13 Sep 08 at 1:38 am
@ chien
don worry about things you cannot control 
its not hard to find friends in university at all.
Alvin Lim
13 Sep 08 at 11:37 am