Before I begin my babbling, I'd like to offer my condolences to the familes of Rhys Jones and Antonio Puerta. It's sad to hear/read of their passing, especially of how it happened.
Rhys Jones was an 11 year old boy from Liverpool who was shot dead, presumably, by other teens on his way home after a football kickabout. Tragic. Antonio Puerta, a 22-year old professional footballer with Sevilla FC in Spain died 3 days after suffering a heart attack during a football match. Even more tragic is the revelation that he was about to be a father in 6 weeks. Doubt any pregnant wife can handle that loss at such a critical time in her life. Closer to home, a 17 yr old student , who happened to be the son of a colleague, died after collapsing at the finish line of a local triathlon meet. More recently, an Army captain died, also after collapsing at the finishing line of a 21km run.
What saddens me most is not so much that these people were so young and had bright futures, it's the loss felt by those left behind. I'm a guy and I can't imagine nor fathom the gamut of emotions gripping a heavily pregnant wife who's weeks away from delivering her first baby when told that her husband, father to her unborn child has died, even if the death has been inevitable for a few days. I think to describe her as distraught would be an injustice to her.
I'm yet to be a parent but I'm in no doubt that my colleague would have been as equally inconsolable when she first found out about her son's tragic passing. It's just tragic how such young lives with bright futures ahead of them, no doubt the ray of hope for their parents or spouses, had their lives cut short. I can only hope that those left behind is given the strength and courage to move on with life though I just can't begin to imagine having to cope with such a tragic loss.
At the end of the day, it's by His will that we are here and, by His will, we shall leave. As cheesy and antiquated as it may sound, we are all guilty of taking those we love for granted even when there are constant reminders to cherish them while they are still with us.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Sudden Death
Before I begin my babbling, I'd like to offer my condolences to the familes of Rhys Jones and Antonio Puerta. It's sad to hear/read of their passing, especially of how it happened.
Rhys Jones was an 11 year old boy from Liverpool who was shot dead, presumably, by other teens on his way home after a football kickabout. Tragic. Antonio Puerta, a 22-year old professional footballer with Sevilla FC in Spain died 3 days after suffering a heart attack during a football match. Even more tragic is the revelation that he was about to be a father in 6 weeks. Doubt any pregnant wife can handle that loss at such a critical time in her life. Closer to home, a 17 yr old student , who happened to be the son of a colleague, died after collapsing at the finish line of a local triathlon meet. More recently, an Army captain died, also after collapsing at the finishing line of a 21km run.
What saddens me most is not so much that these people were so young and had bright futures, it's the loss felt by those left behind. I'm a guy and I can't imagine nor fathom the gamut of emotions gripping a heavily pregnant wife who's weeks away from delivering her first baby when told that her husband, father to her unborn child has died, even if the death has been inevitable for a few days. I think to describe her as distraught would be an injustice to her.
I'm yet to be a parent but I'm in no doubt that my colleague would have been as equally inconsolable when she first found out about her son's tragic passing. It's just tragic how such young lives with bright futures ahead of them, no doubt the ray of hope for their parents or spouses, had their lives cut short. I can only hope that those left behind is given the strength and courage to move on with life though I just can't begin to imagine having to cope with such a tragic loss.
At the end of the day, it's by His will that we are here and, by His will, we shall leave. As cheesy and antiquated as it may sound, we are all guilty of taking those we love for granted even when there are constant reminders to cherish them while they are still with us.
Rhys Jones was an 11 year old boy from Liverpool who was shot dead, presumably, by other teens on his way home after a football kickabout. Tragic. Antonio Puerta, a 22-year old professional footballer with Sevilla FC in Spain died 3 days after suffering a heart attack during a football match. Even more tragic is the revelation that he was about to be a father in 6 weeks. Doubt any pregnant wife can handle that loss at such a critical time in her life. Closer to home, a 17 yr old student , who happened to be the son of a colleague, died after collapsing at the finish line of a local triathlon meet. More recently, an Army captain died, also after collapsing at the finishing line of a 21km run.
What saddens me most is not so much that these people were so young and had bright futures, it's the loss felt by those left behind. I'm a guy and I can't imagine nor fathom the gamut of emotions gripping a heavily pregnant wife who's weeks away from delivering her first baby when told that her husband, father to her unborn child has died, even if the death has been inevitable for a few days. I think to describe her as distraught would be an injustice to her.
I'm yet to be a parent but I'm in no doubt that my colleague would have been as equally inconsolable when she first found out about her son's tragic passing. It's just tragic how such young lives with bright futures ahead of them, no doubt the ray of hope for their parents or spouses, had their lives cut short. I can only hope that those left behind is given the strength and courage to move on with life though I just can't begin to imagine having to cope with such a tragic loss.
At the end of the day, it's by His will that we are here and, by His will, we shall leave. As cheesy and antiquated as it may sound, we are all guilty of taking those we love for granted even when there are constant reminders to cherish them while they are still with us.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Patience: Sign of strength or weakness
Just a little patience....Axl Rose sang.
Some people have it in abundance. I'd like to think I'm one of them. I mean I know everyone has patience, some with a higher emotional threshold before they burst at the seams. Not everyone can remain calm after being hit at the back of the head with a metal pipe out of the blue. That story's for another day though.
Patience is a double-edged sword. While some see it as a strength of one's character, others may see it as a sign of weakness or of gross meekness. Take my example. My inaction at being hit with a metal pipe can be seen as a sign of mental toughness in not reacting to such provocation or as a sign of my fear for fights, aka, cowardice.
How we define it to be depends on how well we know the person displaying that patience. In my case, those close to me would probably say that it was my strength in character in not responding, while those close to the agent provocateur would probably say I was scared to retaliate. Whichever way you see it, I'm pretty sure I'd have whooped his ass had I retaliated. Enough about that though.
Some things happened over the weekend also tested the limits of my patience. I'm not going to talk about it in detail right now because of a promise I made. However, it would be suffice to say it's a story that would never go away. Unfortunate me. It's just something I have to live with, though not necessarily mean having to reconcile with. While chatting with some friends, I said something which made me think again, " It's like having to deal with one problem isn't a stiff enough test for me, God decided that 2+1 would be a better test."
As much as I know and believe that one marries into a family and never just the person alone, I do wish that I can choose my family members at times. I guess it's all part of His grand design he has for all of us. For me, it's dealing with the people around me for whom I have neither care nor love for. I know that I have to remain patient for my wife and, especially, my baby's sake.
Please God, give me the strength to overcome this test you have given me with my dignity and sanity intact. Amin Ya Rabbal Al Amin.
Some people have it in abundance. I'd like to think I'm one of them. I mean I know everyone has patience, some with a higher emotional threshold before they burst at the seams. Not everyone can remain calm after being hit at the back of the head with a metal pipe out of the blue. That story's for another day though.
Patience is a double-edged sword. While some see it as a strength of one's character, others may see it as a sign of weakness or of gross meekness. Take my example. My inaction at being hit with a metal pipe can be seen as a sign of mental toughness in not reacting to such provocation or as a sign of my fear for fights, aka, cowardice.
How we define it to be depends on how well we know the person displaying that patience. In my case, those close to me would probably say that it was my strength in character in not responding, while those close to the agent provocateur would probably say I was scared to retaliate. Whichever way you see it, I'm pretty sure I'd have whooped his ass had I retaliated. Enough about that though.
Some things happened over the weekend also tested the limits of my patience. I'm not going to talk about it in detail right now because of a promise I made. However, it would be suffice to say it's a story that would never go away. Unfortunate me. It's just something I have to live with, though not necessarily mean having to reconcile with. While chatting with some friends, I said something which made me think again, " It's like having to deal with one problem isn't a stiff enough test for me, God decided that 2+1 would be a better test."
As much as I know and believe that one marries into a family and never just the person alone, I do wish that I can choose my family members at times. I guess it's all part of His grand design he has for all of us. For me, it's dealing with the people around me for whom I have neither care nor love for. I know that I have to remain patient for my wife and, especially, my baby's sake.
Please God, give me the strength to overcome this test you have given me with my dignity and sanity intact. Amin Ya Rabbal Al Amin.
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