See you ....................... again

Is death really nothing at all? Do you just slip away into the next world? You are still you and I will still be me. No matter where we will be, whatever we were to each other, that will still remain. If you meet me there, you will still call me by my old familiar name; speak to me in the easy way you always used to. We might still laugh as we always do at the little jokes we enjoy together. Should I be gone today, let my name be ever the household word that it always was, and let it be spoken without effort. Is it right then to say that death is the unbroken continuity? I will be out of sight but I will not be out of mind. The difference is that I stepped into the unknown before you, and I want you to know that I am waiting for you, just around the corner and, I want you to know that all is well here.

Please do not wonder why I am being so philosophical about my entry today, but I just wanted to tribute this entry to all the people that I have known and have demised. More than often I will be thinking of them, wondering where they are, what they are doing etc... I stop and say a prayer for them every so often, as I would want the same for me one day.

Can we assume that human life is just a dream of which we never really know the reality of existence? People are too engrossed in greed, material demeanors, fake beauties, being spiteful and drowning in sorrows. The incapability of knowing beyond those ideas and feelings to me is the unknown.

I have been involved for sometimes now as a voluntary with the cancer survivor at the National Cancer Center. Being with these people and seeing them picking up the pieces of their lives again show me a new horizon and perception on life. This voluntary group is organized by some expatriate wives. We meet every Tuesday 2 times a month; mostly what we do is to teach the cancer survivor to do make up, aromatherapy, and massage. It is the simple things in life that makes living more meaningful for me.

Along the way, I became more than just a volunteer, things got personal, our conversation became deeper and I began to reach out further. Each time I am told that they are experiencing a recurrence, I get so sad and I want to do nothing more than just to be with them.

The survivors are very interesting characters, some take life more seriously, some just live the way they are used to, some just give up and some do not care at all. Out of the many who I have met, the withdrawn survivors are the most difficult to handle, but they are the most interesting to me. Hence, I often wonder, can entering the unknown be so unwelcoming?

I received a text message on my mobile on May 7 2008, informing me that he passed away peacefully. I can still see your courage, I can still hear your voice and I applaud your strength. May God bless you and may you be at peace always Zahari. Al Fatiha.

There may be trouble ahead,
But while there’s moonlight and music and love and romance,
Let’s face the music and dance.
Irving Berlin, 1888-1989, American songwriter, Follow the Fleet