What Survives Death?
In a recent trip to Bintan, my wife and I spent a weekend by the beach. Doing nothing much in particular, just relaxing, reading...
One night, as I was staring up in the night sky, I wondered what was going on back at home in Singapore. What's my family and friends doing? Did they feel my absence? No, most probably not. For them, life goes on. The everyday routine, the work...
And then I wondered if that is, what it would be like when I pass away. Will it make any difference to them? Will I be missed? Did the world stop turning? No. Most probably, everything will have to go on. Yes, some people may cry for me for a while. Yes, some people will miss me once in a while. But no, the world does not stop turning, people get on with their life. Nothing will change with my passing. By 2077, I will be one hundred years old (if I get to live that long). It's sad, that I will never live to see 2100. What will the world be like in 2100? Or in 3000?
It was at that momemt, the realisation dawned upon me. With such perspective, it became very clear. Our stay here is temporal, nothing is permanent. Really, it's only a matter of time; everything physical will come to pass... So what remains?
In my opinion, spirits of greatness remains; spirits of love remains. Just think of Mother Teresa, Yue Fei, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, S. Rajaratman ... the list goes on. They may have passed, but their dreams, love, humility, charisma and their words still passes on till this day, and for ages to come. Their aspirations and high spirits will serve as inspirations for generations on and on... This is what will last.
"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and see realised. But my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
- Nelson Mandela
One night, as I was staring up in the night sky, I wondered what was going on back at home in Singapore. What's my family and friends doing? Did they feel my absence? No, most probably not. For them, life goes on. The everyday routine, the work...
And then I wondered if that is, what it would be like when I pass away. Will it make any difference to them? Will I be missed? Did the world stop turning? No. Most probably, everything will have to go on. Yes, some people may cry for me for a while. Yes, some people will miss me once in a while. But no, the world does not stop turning, people get on with their life. Nothing will change with my passing. By 2077, I will be one hundred years old (if I get to live that long). It's sad, that I will never live to see 2100. What will the world be like in 2100? Or in 3000?
It was at that momemt, the realisation dawned upon me. With such perspective, it became very clear. Our stay here is temporal, nothing is permanent. Really, it's only a matter of time; everything physical will come to pass... So what remains?
In my opinion, spirits of greatness remains; spirits of love remains. Just think of Mother Teresa, Yue Fei, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, S. Rajaratman ... the list goes on. They may have passed, but their dreams, love, humility, charisma and their words still passes on till this day, and for ages to come. Their aspirations and high spirits will serve as inspirations for generations on and on... This is what will last.
"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and see realised. But my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
- Nelson Mandela
posted by Cyrus at 11:04 PM
2 Comments:
My brother, does that mean you have found the meaning of your life? :)
John @ SingaSoft
Well, I think this is an ongoing pursue; to find the each's own meaning for life.
The sad thing is most goes through life not proactively defining the meaning to their life; instead, they allow life to define the meaning for them.
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