someone died yesterday.
ah. i think i said that way too upfront -- no flowery words, no euphemisms, no sugarcoating.
how does one sugarcoat death, anyway? no matter how careful we try to say it, it wouldn't make it's weight any less.
the person is dead. lost. gone forever.
john died early morning yesterday. he is one of alvin's closest friend, if not the closest. i met him only twice. we didn't have much encounter together and obviously he is not directly related to me. still, i was surprised and somehow saddened by the news. i think of him as a good person, young and promising, and hopes and dreams await him.
but then again, who am i to know that. maybe, his mission is accomplished. his life is spent. his time is up.
reflecting on that, i also remembered someone else whose time was up years back. someone who means so much to me. at that time, i was crushed. i thought his death was very untimely. it was only four months before my college graduation, and some years to go before i can pay off all his sacrifices. (pardon me for bringing this up time and again, i just can't help it. i moved on, but i never forget. how can one forget her father, anyway?)
after tatay's death, all other deaths became less shocking, more acceptable. lolo's. even dumbledore's. michael jackson's. dobby's. snape's.
i know other than lolo (and micheal jackson), all the rest are nonexistent to begin with. but my point is, i became less attached. before, i really cry even when the death is only within the tv screen, or enclosed in the pages of a book. the stories are make-believe, but i let my emotions rule over me.
when someone dies young, we feel sorry for the person. when old, some still think it's untimely. and when it's at one's prime age, we, the living, are succumbed by regret for his or her life.
dumbledore's wise words to harry ring true:
"do not pity the dead. pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love."
the dead, i came to accept, are in a much better, safer, more beautiful place. there really should be no room for pity and regret. our hearts should be less heavy, and our tears ought to be fewer, not because we love them less, or that their worth is not too esteemed, but because for so many reasons, we must be happy for them.
and for the living, lucky are we to still have time to live some more and love some more...until our time is up.
ah. i think i said that way too upfront -- no flowery words, no euphemisms, no sugarcoating.
how does one sugarcoat death, anyway? no matter how careful we try to say it, it wouldn't make it's weight any less.
the person is dead. lost. gone forever.
john died early morning yesterday. he is one of alvin's closest friend, if not the closest. i met him only twice. we didn't have much encounter together and obviously he is not directly related to me. still, i was surprised and somehow saddened by the news. i think of him as a good person, young and promising, and hopes and dreams await him.
but then again, who am i to know that. maybe, his mission is accomplished. his life is spent. his time is up.
reflecting on that, i also remembered someone else whose time was up years back. someone who means so much to me. at that time, i was crushed. i thought his death was very untimely. it was only four months before my college graduation, and some years to go before i can pay off all his sacrifices. (pardon me for bringing this up time and again, i just can't help it. i moved on, but i never forget. how can one forget her father, anyway?)
after tatay's death, all other deaths became less shocking, more acceptable. lolo's. even dumbledore's. michael jackson's. dobby's. snape's.
i know other than lolo (and micheal jackson), all the rest are nonexistent to begin with. but my point is, i became less attached. before, i really cry even when the death is only within the tv screen, or enclosed in the pages of a book. the stories are make-believe, but i let my emotions rule over me.
when someone dies young, we feel sorry for the person. when old, some still think it's untimely. and when it's at one's prime age, we, the living, are succumbed by regret for his or her life.
dumbledore's wise words to harry ring true:
"do not pity the dead. pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love."
the dead, i came to accept, are in a much better, safer, more beautiful place. there really should be no room for pity and regret. our hearts should be less heavy, and our tears ought to be fewer, not because we love them less, or that their worth is not too esteemed, but because for so many reasons, we must be happy for them.
and for the living, lucky are we to still have time to live some more and love some more...until our time is up.
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