Things you could have done before a beloved's passing

Last Friday, June 15,2012, I attended an internment of our fellow co-worker’s dad somewhere around Jalan Sudirman, Bandung. It is the first time I have witnessed a Chinese funeral for my entire life. Beautifully ornamented flowers welcomed us by the entire façade; Chinese texts on a fine fabric was suspended on either sides of the room; people wearing plain white shirts greeted us and offered us some refreshments like sweets, bread, chips and glasses of water. Lastly, melancholic silence illuminated the entire room. I could see from the eyes of the family, relatives, friends, colleagues and others brimmed with unspoken heartache and grief for no one expected the sudden passing of someone they cherished most.

Death is the most feared and most unaccepted sad reality in our life. When I see people grieving over someone’s passing, I see guilt and shame. Usually, we only lament when someone totally left us physically. Thus the saying goes “You can only see the true value of someone, when he is already gone”.  Pain is natural when somebody left us but don’t we think that we should have given the true importance of someone while he is still with us. We should have let them feel that we care, love and value them. 



The problem is there are things that keep us from doing such virtuous deeds and we are left off-guarded from doing them. Kind words are unspoken, act of benevolence are left undone, hatred and anger unsettled. Or even very simple things that matters a lot such as buying someone’s ice cream, watching an exciting film together, listening to the music you love to hear, and others. More often, these simple things are being looked over because of fixating our attention with other things which we think more valuable than anything else such as earning  more money, paying bills, playing video games, and even checking notifications over Facebook or Twitter.

Life is so uncertain. No one really knows when will be our final hour, our last breath and  our last words.  Let us do the best in making most of our lives now before regret hunts us. Let us put into actions the good plans we have in mind to make other people see their worth. You might be the only person doing that and it matters a lot to anyone who receives it.

Blessed is the man who joyfully values each man through actions they met along their path. Blessed is the man who never grows tired of manifesting the word of God to people regardless of their disparity for He shows no partiality. (Romans 2:11)


photo credit: @Doug88888 via photo pin cc