Here today, gone tomorrow

I did not expect to start my first entry of 2008 on a sombre note.
Yet, the sudden demise of a local artiste set off a good load of serious thoughts about life and the unpredictability of it all.

MC King, a well-known comedian in Singapore, passed away early this afternoon (4 Jan) in the hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties at home in the morning.

It was not known if he had been suffering from any medical condition, but according to news reports, his co-workers and friends had always had the idea that he was perfectly healthy, though he had always been on the heavy side.

A day before his passing, a friend of mine had just bumped into him at a carpark. He was well and alive then, and yet, a day later, he's gone.

It's scary how fragile and unpredictable life is.

We all know the saying, "Live everyday as if it's your last, because one day, it will be". It's a very wise saying that's meant to urge us to appreciate each and every day because life is extremely unpredictable by nature...it's not meant to encourage us to live in constant paranoia that we are going to die in the next 24 hours. And as I progress in life and lived through more experiences, this saying is starting to etch deeper and deeper into my consciousness.

I guess to me, at this stage, the joy or regrets of living to a ripe old age or dying before my time has little to do with what I have managed to achieve for myself in this lifetime up until my expiry date, but more to do with what I have managed to do for my parents. Upon his demise, MC King left behind his mum. It's not hard to imagine the kind of emotional turmoil she must be going through now...and most likely for a long time to come. I hope he had done well to shower his mum with love and concern and had taken good care of her in every way all these time - so that he would be able to leave her with fond memories, and for himself, leave with less regrets.

For the rest of us, I guess it's time we take stock of our lives, count our blessings, and learn to be really, really, really appreciative and grateful that regardless of the sort of challenges we are up against now, we are at least alive and healthy. We have to recognise that as long as we are alive and healthy, we have no real problems at all.

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I did not manage to accomplish any of my resolutions last year. However, that's not going to stop me from putting together a list of resolutions this year.

Some of my friends do not believe in making resolutions. But I value resolutions - the importance do not really lie in me sticking to them and actualising them. The importance lies in me taking stock of my life at the end of a year and evaluating the areas that need improving. Didn't some wise man say something along the line of "Knowing your enemies is half the battle won?" Most times, the toughest enemies are ourselves.

We can make resolutions any time of the year, of course. But I suppose the ending and starting points of a year will help to turbo-charge our drive for changes in ourselves.

After all, it's unrealistic to expect a better new year if we continue to live in the same old way, with the same-old self-defeating thoughts and actions.

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Life's unpredictable...but while we still possess relatively good health and a heart that's still beating, let's resolve to make the best of it.

I hope I can at least stick to this particular resolution in 2008... ; )