Natalie Shobana Ambrose (4th June, 2009 - theSun)
My hands were freshly stained with henna from a friend’s wedding over the weekend. My feet still a little tired from dancing the previous night but it was Monday and time to get to the office.
Still buzzing from all the fun, I rushed to the back door to hang out the washing when my happiness immediately turned to sadness. There were women in white, tears in their eyes praying in our neighbour’s house. Someone had passed away and just like that life changed.
Two weeks ago, I received good news worthy of me camping on cloud nine for a few weeks. All smiles and with a spring in my step I headed home. On my drive back I thought about life and how it changes so fast. Caught up in my euphoria I realised that not everyone was feeling my joy.
For me I will never forget the events of the day because it made me smile for days and changed my life. But for the person whose car was being towed in front of me, it would have been a day worthy of forgetting. Totally smashed in from the left side, it would have been a horrible experience for the driver and just like that life changed.
I’ve often wondered how differently I would live my life, if I knew I had 10 years to live. A little morbid I guess but I realised I would do many things differently. I would definitely be more courageous and adventurous. I would not put things off and I would probably try a lot more things. I would be less careful with myself and not take too much to heart.
I have a list of things I want to do in this lifetime, some people call it the bucket list. For me I call it my life’s list and it’s a long one. But I’ve come to realise even more importantly that I have to make a list of the qualities I want to possess and work at it. Not only do I want amazing experiences, I also want to be a better person.
Life changes just like that, without warning most times.
Imagine the people whose lives changed when the Air France plane went missing a few days ago. Or the lives of the workers who died and the architect responsible when the iconic Jaya Supermarket building collapsed last week.
Life changed.
But for the rest of us it goes on.
A few weeks ago, I was overwhelmed with decisions, deadlines and to-do lists, and I found myself wishing so hard that I could press pause while I carried on with my day catching up while everyone else was paused. Many times, I wish I could rewind my days and sometimes fast forward. But we can’t.
In the three minutes it takes you to read this article 300 babies would be born and 620 people would have died. Life would have changed for many – some would be mourning while others filled with joy of a new life. While some born might not be wanted or welcomed into the world, (but) life would keep going on and in another three minutes more life, more deaths and more changes.
Maybe the very least we could do is try and practise what Plato said “Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”
I think that once we accept that our time on earth is short, we are better prepared for life and want to become better people.
There is a poem entitled The Dash by Linda Ellis. It defines the dash between our birth dates and our “expiry dates”. The dash is our life and really our legacy. Our decisions define our legacies and the lives we touch.
Every time I head to the backyard I’m reminded about how life has changed, how life has to go on and miss what has been lost.
Natalie believes we should be slow to Twitter, quick to think and spend more time at life.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com.
My hands were freshly stained with henna from a friend’s wedding over the weekend. My feet still a little tired from dancing the previous night but it was Monday and time to get to the office.
Still buzzing from all the fun, I rushed to the back door to hang out the washing when my happiness immediately turned to sadness. There were women in white, tears in their eyes praying in our neighbour’s house. Someone had passed away and just like that life changed.
Two weeks ago, I received good news worthy of me camping on cloud nine for a few weeks. All smiles and with a spring in my step I headed home. On my drive back I thought about life and how it changes so fast. Caught up in my euphoria I realised that not everyone was feeling my joy.
For me I will never forget the events of the day because it made me smile for days and changed my life. But for the person whose car was being towed in front of me, it would have been a day worthy of forgetting. Totally smashed in from the left side, it would have been a horrible experience for the driver and just like that life changed.
I’ve often wondered how differently I would live my life, if I knew I had 10 years to live. A little morbid I guess but I realised I would do many things differently. I would definitely be more courageous and adventurous. I would not put things off and I would probably try a lot more things. I would be less careful with myself and not take too much to heart.
I have a list of things I want to do in this lifetime, some people call it the bucket list. For me I call it my life’s list and it’s a long one. But I’ve come to realise even more importantly that I have to make a list of the qualities I want to possess and work at it. Not only do I want amazing experiences, I also want to be a better person.
Life changes just like that, without warning most times.
Imagine the people whose lives changed when the Air France plane went missing a few days ago. Or the lives of the workers who died and the architect responsible when the iconic Jaya Supermarket building collapsed last week.
Life changed.
But for the rest of us it goes on.
A few weeks ago, I was overwhelmed with decisions, deadlines and to-do lists, and I found myself wishing so hard that I could press pause while I carried on with my day catching up while everyone else was paused. Many times, I wish I could rewind my days and sometimes fast forward. But we can’t.
In the three minutes it takes you to read this article 300 babies would be born and 620 people would have died. Life would have changed for many – some would be mourning while others filled with joy of a new life. While some born might not be wanted or welcomed into the world, (but) life would keep going on and in another three minutes more life, more deaths and more changes.
Maybe the very least we could do is try and practise what Plato said “Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”
I think that once we accept that our time on earth is short, we are better prepared for life and want to become better people.
There is a poem entitled The Dash by Linda Ellis. It defines the dash between our birth dates and our “expiry dates”. The dash is our life and really our legacy. Our decisions define our legacies and the lives we touch.
Every time I head to the backyard I’m reminded about how life has changed, how life has to go on and miss what has been lost.
Natalie believes we should be slow to Twitter, quick to think and spend more time at life.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com.
