I am so thankful to be alive.

Whenever I think of the Mount. Kinabalu quake and its unfortunate victims, I get reminded of the Sewol ferry incident that happened a year ago.. (and now there's the MERS outbreak) All these young lives - with all that potential in them - being snuffed out just like this. As if they never mattered in this world or meant a thing to anyone. How many of them were feeling excited about the life they never got to live? How many of them had aspirations they never got a chance to fulfill? How many of them had things they wanted to but never got to do? How many of them had words they never got to say - to tell others they loved them, thanked them, forgave them or felt sorry towards them? How many of them had to leave with regrets at that tender age? How many of them were afraid of leaving on their own? How many of them were clinging desperately to the very last hope of survival (that never materialised), reluctant to let go of what we call life?

I can hardly imagine how fearful they must have been in the last few moments of their lives. These children had their whole lives ahead of them. All that they had experienced thus far may have been just a teaser (of the greatness and wildness that awaited) but for some, it was more than enough - they had already learnt to expect, to dream, to yearn, to want - that is, all until fate came along and cruelly robbed them of all that. 

There might be no good explanation as to why we feel sorry and apologetic for all that others have lost - after all, their predicament is far removed from the local context and nothing we could have done would have made a difference - but it teaches us to treasure the things we have and cherish the people around us. In particular, this precious gift of life that we possess (and which so many others would trade anything for), we have to make the most of it. We must. We need to.. To endeavour to live a life worth living, to live a life we'll be proud of to call our own and to live a life which makes a positive difference in the lives of others. 

To do justice to all those lost souls, we must not squander this gift. 

Live a good life. Be a good person. Love the people around us. Love yourself.

Most importantly, be grateful to be alive.

I am thankful to be alive.

For what it's worth: it's never too late, or in my case, 

too early to be whoever you want to be. 

There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. 

You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing ... 

I hope you live a life you're proud of. 

If you find that you're not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again. 

- F. Scott Fitzgerald