Non Standard Issue: Life is too sho

Ironically, I celebrated my 22^nd birthday only a few weeks ago.

“Celebrated” though is an overstatement. I don’t really put much weigh on my birthdays like other people do. To quote somebody – “All you did was not die for twelve months.”

No, I am not seeing dead people. I am also not feeling suicidal. I just suddenly got obsessed with death.

You can’t really blame me. It is hard not to think of death when you see your country being battered left and right by disasters both natural and man-made, and your countrymen dying like ants.

People are gunned down like some characters in a video game, except this time, the blood is real and there are families crying over the dead bodies – unless the whole clan has been wiped out. Parents cradle their dead children, who yesterday were still warm and laughing before the typhoon washed away their smiles and future forever.

Outside the confines of a movie house, it is difficult to comprehend the loss. But if you put the deaths in a personal level, the pain is a direct punch to the stomach.

That human being I see being brusquely packed in that body bag? It could have been my mother, father, brother or a friend.

Or it could have been me.

Except that the war was in Mindanao and the quake and the typhoon decided to hit the lower part of the archipelago. It is just a case of me being in the right place at the right time. Else, it is my obituary you are reading right now.

It can be a really scary thought – knowing that our lives can be plucked as easily as a piece of grape from a stalk. It is a truth that can slap us awake and shake us to the core.

For my birthday, my friend Ely Cabal gave me William B. Girao’s “Life is Short”. The book is thin, but it packs a powerful message. An excerpt reads:

“If we want to live wisely, dapat mas madalas tayo sa mga lamay sa patay kaysa sa mga birthday party...Bakit? Dahil ang mga malulungkot at seryosong okasyon ay matindi at konkretong nagpapaalala sa atin na ang buhay ay maikli lamang, at kailangan natin ire-adjust ang ating mga goals sa buhay.”

Note, it’s not about wearing a long face, but as he further explains:

“Hindi rin natin sinasabi na ang pamumuhay na may karunungan ay buhay na walang sense of humor at capacity for laughter. Ang ibig sabihin ng mamuhay ng may karunungan at mamuhay na fino-focus natin ang ating mga energies sa mga mahahalagang bagay. We focus on the things that matter...”

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

I have always believed (and still do) that God will give me enough time to accomplish my mission here on Earth. But, what I have failed to take into the picture is that God’s timeframe may be different from what I have in mind.

Sure, I have big dreams. But how do I know if my role is to just plant the seeds of those dreams and there are others who are tasked to take care and harvest their fruits? What if God has given me only a few years, or months, or even weeks for the task, but due to my foolishness, is just whiling the time away on meaningless things because I’m thinking there is always tomorrow?

Uh...oh, it didn’t stop there. The universe made sure that the message gets hammered into my often stubborn, amnesiac brain.

Guess what the topic is during Bo Sanchez’s plenary talk in the third day of the Kerygma Conference?

Yup, it’s hello death again.

Gross. Morbid. But, I really loved the talk.

“The only way to live an awesome life is to think of your death everyday,” said Bo.

Age is relative. The truth is, we are just one heartbeat away from eternity. Sometimes, we may get the illusion that our life can go on forever, but in reality, we really do not know when our thread of life will be cut.

Maybe I will reach the golden age of 80, or maybe not. I might die tomorrow, next week, or right this moment while I am writing this sentence. I really don’t know.

But, the knowledge that I may just drop dead any moment is enough for me to rethink my priorities and make everyday a quality day. My gosh, if today is my last day, I will make sure that I will get the most out those 86,400 seconds!

Think about it, if you know you may not wake up tomorrow, would you choose to oversleep or would you wake up earlier to serve your family, since this might be the last day you will spend time with them? Would you use your extra time on video games or telenovelas, or pour more effort into working on your goals? Would you dwell on petty misunderstandings, instead of choosing to forgive and to laugh with your friends?

Death makes us see things at a wiser perspective. It gives us a laser-accurate vision which cuts through all the junk and superficiality the world deems important, and allows us to focus on what is truly precious to us.

If we are lucky and we get to live a hundred years, would it still not be wonderful to know that we have lived each day to the fullest? But, if God calls us home now, we can leave without any hint of regret in our hearts because we have squeezed out everything we can offer.

I hope like Saint Paul, we can also say this graceful farewell: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”

Life is too sho –