Life and Death:

How ironical is it, that we use the phrase, "Life and Death", in the same sentence. Yet, they bring entirely opposite emotions. Last night, we received sad news about the demise of a very dear family friend. Unfortunately he passed away......alone and nobody knew of it until a few days later. This hurts, really hurts. I pray that his soul gets a new release into a new life, a good one this time. I feel for his entire family, especially his parents and wife. May God give them the strength to handle this news and bring their lives back to normal.

It has been many years since I have "felt" the sorrow caused by "death". The last death that effected me was that of my great grand mother. But, she was very old and I understood that with old age, comes an end of "life". We all know and accept this fact. So, I had not really "felt" hurt, but, relieved on her behalf, that she was able to get rid of all the pain she was suffering in the hospital for such a long time. She had a good soul and I have good memories of her. That was almost 13 years ago. With time and age, we tend to understand and "feel" these emotions, since, we try to relate to it and imagine that "feeling". I shutter at such thoughts. There is this "fear" in me when my mind strays into the territory of such thoughts. Yes, I know that it is a part of life and there is no discretion from God. When the times comes to leave this Earth, there is no saying, "Just a minute"! All living beings are created to have a "beginning" and an "ending". Just like a story book, we have the first page and the last page. Everything in between is partly our own undertaking and we all call the story as "LIFE". Thus, it is unto "us" to make up the "content" of the story, whether it be happy, sad, funny, a disaster, adventerous, scary, etc. Of course, God, puts in a little twist of his own, into this story. That, I call it as "suspense". But, believe me, the major part of it lies in our hands.

Unfortunately, in today's world, most of us are driven to follow the "money", than to follow our "own" desires and passion. The true meaning of Life gets buried so deep within, that it gets lost. I guess that's how they came up with the term, "soul-searching"! Just track the time that you spend on any given day. It is mostly spent on considering materialist things. Well, as such, we spend 1/3rd of our lives on our jobs (i.e., if we have one), 1/3rd in sleeping (i.e., if you are lucky enough!) and if you live in a bad-traffic zone, then some time is wasted in the "commute". We hesitate to take unpaid time off from work! Well, in this regard, I am glad that I have made up my mind to change this for myself. We want to spend more time with family and exploring the beauty of our Earth - traveling! I don't really want to wait to collect my social security before I am able to live my life, the way "I" want to!!! Waiting until I am 68 years old seems to be too much of a risk to hold on to my desires. Yes, we might be more "financially" fit to travel around the world, but, will we be "physically and mentally" fit??? Money money money.....today we have it, tomorrow we don't...who knows! But, one thing I know for sure is that Time time time...today we have it, tomorrow we DON'T! So make the present happy and you can be certain of a happy past and....well let's see about tomorrow, tomorrow! With this mantra, "tomorrow" will certainly be happy, too! : ) I also agree with Suze Orman, who always says at the end of her show (on CNBC).....People first, then money, then things!

I just can't emphasize how important it is, especially for people like us, who migrate to a far away land, away from our family and loved ones, that all the money that we make here cannot really buy us the "happiness" and "life satisfaction". We get lost in our own lives and things around us. But, a part of our heart and mind is always with our families, at least subconsciously. Yes, we need the money to lead a decent, respectful life without being a burdern to others. I don't want to sound like a hypocrite! I do like the luxury that money can buy, but, at the same time I know it's limits, beyond which it cannot be of much help. I want us to indulge in spending our lives the way "WE" want to, not, go by others' standards (or the MEDIA's standards). It is not an easy task, but, we are sure that slowly and steadily, we will get there. When my husband and I look back at the pictures that we have painted of our life, I want us to sit back, smile and say to ourselves.....ah, that was journey, worthwhile and fulfilling ! : ) If I am the first one to die in my family, then, I will stick around for some time for someone to join me and then fly away into a whole new world where there is no fear of anything....where we all live peacfully in the presence of God. I do not want to be born on this Earth again. I do believe in rebirth, but, only if the peson dies with unfulfilled desires. But, I am not going to be one of them. : )

"Live life to the fullest."