Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Happy Endings!

It's been quite a sad time for the UAE for over a month now. First, we learn of 45 families (now more than 70) who have lost their loved ones in Yemen. And just a couple of days ago, yet another tragedy strikes, and we learn of the sudden loss of His Highness Sheikh Rashed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the son of His Highness the Ruler of Dubai, due to a heart attack. He was 34. 


I've been contemplating for a while now on the topic of sudden deaths as I myself lost my father this past Ramadan. Without any warnings and without any illness, we quickly lost him as we were getting ready to have Iftar. He was 61. 

I bumped into an old friend today who also shared with me his story about loosing his father this last December. Though he seemed to be holding it together, I can tell that he also seems to be still in shock about what happened as he was sharing his story. He told me that his father suddenly fell ill, was taken to the ICU, and a few days later, he was gone. He was 80.

It seems to me that the only certainty about life is death. No matter who you are, how old you are, how healthy you are, when it's time, it's time and there is nothing much you can do about that. What you actually can have some control over is how you live the very short time that we have in this life. I find myself sometimes worrying about the most meaningless things. What I have come to appreciate over the past few months, that what truly matters in your life, comes down to two things only: putting a smile on the face of your loved ones, and taking a shot at everything you ever wanted to do.

As there is only one way out of this life, why live it in either fear or regret, or even worse, both? A lot of times, I think people miss living in the now. Sometimes I feel some people are still stuck in the chains of the past, or live in the fear of the shadows of tomorrow. 

Albert Einstein once said that the only constant in life is change. Embrace it, don't fear it, nor fight it, as in change we find growth, progress, and ultimately happiness. And like in many things we encounter in life, death is also a change. A difficult one for sure. But ask yourself, do you want this change to define you? To limit who you will always be for the rest of your life? Or would you prefer to grow from it? To become someone who is soo much more than who you are now? 

Not a day goes by without me thinking of everyone I lost in my life, especially my father. But my father always inspired me to be happy. To always pursue whatever i want, as long as I don't loose sight of my values. So in happiness and progress, I have found my father, very much alive, and still being there as my driving force towards finding happiness. 

Change is difficult, but it is inevitable. So how about we live an awesome life, and move on from the silly little things that don't really mean anything to us? What I really hope from this post is to inspire you to realize that your life is in your control, despite how it doesn't seem so sometimes. I also hope I inspire you to do more of what inspires you, and be more with people who matter to you the most, before there's nothing much you can do about it anymore.

Here's, hopefully, to a life with a happy ending! 

image credit/freeimages.com

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