WE celebrated our birthday yesterday; our one year before the start of the last quarter in the game called life.
We thank all those who remembered to greet us and we could only hope that we will be able to greet them in return. Of course it is now much easier with all the available platforms for on-line communications.
Imagine former Davao broadcaster Mike Balbin Jr. who is now in Australia sending his greetings ahead of the others! Not surprising though because Australia’s time is ahead of that of the Philippines by about five hours.
Then we have some members of our former Davao Light family. We could not thank them so much for taking a little of their busy time to greet us. Doing so had been the culture created over the years in that company which makes everyone feels important even if he or she has long retired or gone to other places.
Again, thank you all. Your thoughts make us aspire to live longer.
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With the commemoration of All Saints and All Souls’ Days, the other day and yesterday, respectively, we could not help but be reminded of our own borrowed life that at any time the Lord God from whom we owe our existence may take it back any time He feels convenient.
Meaning, whether one is young, middle-aged or in his or her senior years, he/she can only pray for extension. There is however, no guaranty that such plea will be granted. In other words, it really is a question of whether or not one is ready when the Lender gets back what is lent.
Of course, readiness for one’s departure of his or her earthly life is not just being reckoned with how he/she has complied with what is expected of him/her in terms of the Godly requirements. It is equally important that one is ready on the earthly aspects of departing from the living.
Today we all are aware that what is characterizing society is the extremely high cost of living. But these days too, the cost of dying is as expensive as well. One has to make sure that he or she is financially and materially prepared to deal with such requirement as the final resting place; how would one’s last trip to his/her “destination” be done and by what means.
Then the family of the departed has to deal with some people who join in the mourning or “send-off” who need to be attended to in so many ways. Even in the dead’s wake done at his/her family residence those left behind have to ensure that mourners and visitors will not be given opportunity to create bad impressions.
In other words getting prepared for a person’s death is not just for the demised readiness to face his Creator but also the left-behind-family’s preparedness to cope with all attendant expenses in making the dead’s “final travel” less a burden.
Indeed today’s dying is as costly – possibly even more – than the efforts exerted to delay or prevent such eventuality.
Really, even the Boy Scout’s motto of “Always prepared” applies to a person’s dying as well.
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Levity aside, it is on these two commemorations that we missed our departed father and mother. We realized only after they left us all their sacrifices just to make us brother and sisters men and women that we are today.
And today that as we said, we are already entering the last quarter of our own game in life, we feel that indeed their “coaching” was something that we missed.
Sooner or later, we know we are meant to reunite with them in the great beyond.
