Weblog of Quests

Premature

Louis — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:32:37 +0000

Found out about a friend’s husband’s passing two days ago. Apparently the illness was only discovered a couple of months ago, but it was already at a very late stage. So little time to prepare, so little time to mull over things undone, perhaps many things yet unsaid. She is brave and strong and I hope that she finds peace to replace the grief and loss…

Sarah Jane Smith

Louis — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:24:43 +0000

I have been a fan of BBC’s Doctor Who series since secondary school days – I think I started with Tom Baker’s Doctor, during ABC’s re-runs of the series!? This was long before the current revival (started in 2005). Naturally I was a little sad to learn of Elizabeth Sladen’s sudden death back in the middle of last year. Here’s a nice tribute series of videos from BBC.

Today

Louis — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:43:05 +0000

Today of all days is this quote highly relevant. Sometimes we concern ourselves too much with lofty goals, imaginary problems, and overlook the obvious, the present. Without the “now” there will be no plenty of “tomorrow’s” to come.

“You think this is just another day in your life. It’s not just another day – it’s the one day that is given to you, today. It’s given to you, it’s a gift. It’s the only gift that you have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is, if you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life, and the very last day, then you would have spent this day very well.”

Louie Schwartzberg
American Director and Producer

Worry

Louis — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 04:13:40 +0000

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”

Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom (Dutch Christian, who with her father and other family members helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II.)

Internalising death

Louis — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:31:33 +0000

Just finished reading the book Lament for a son. In fact, I had actually skimmed over A grief observed by C. S. Lewis a while back and was looking for similar accounts of people living through a loss of some form. I guess, after seeing my pet bunny die a week ago, I was simply looking for some insights on how to deal with the situation. Even though he had only been with me for less than 6 months, my heart ached seeing him take his last breaths in my arms…

Lament for a son was written by a father who had lost his son in a mountain-climbing accident; he was only 25 at the time. This book contained thoughts as the father tried to deal with his internal turmoil, trying the best he could to resolve the apparent contradictions between his faith and the pain of losing his son before his life had started properly. Why does God allow such suffering? All the things left undone, unsaid. Reading the words, one cannot help but feel the anguish and pain of a father, but, towards the end, also hopes of a new beginning.

While reading, I was intrigued that the author, a devout Christian, essentially came to a similar conclusion as what many budhists take for granted*.

“We are one in suffering. Some are wealthy, some bright; some athletic, some admire. But we all suffer. For we all prize and love… Suffering is for the loving. If I hadn’t loved him, there wouldn’t be this agony.
…In commanding us to love, God invites us to suffer.”

Perhaps, it is only though deaths (or similar tragic/traumatic incidents) will we have our faiths challenged, and maybe transcend ourselves – otherwise, as the author put it, the death was all for “nothing”.

* Although Christianity and Budhism diverge in how they treat this conclusion. Budha talked about escaping from the endless cycle of suffering…