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[Odler]

(by Lim Swee Choo)

We are mortals, but no one told us, not at home, not in school, not anywhere.

Certainly we are too busy, too healthy to think about it on a daily basis.

Therefore, Life does the reminding. Every once a while, with Ritter, with

Venus and Serena?s sister, with 9/11, with all kinds of other tragedies,

unexpected illnesses, natural disasters, accidents, Life reminds us of

Death.

Then, only then, we register the obvious, and remember the rules:

1. Life is short and precious. Live and love fully. Live it mindfully.

WAKE UP & Be Here Now.

2. Tragedies have the uncanny ability to make us weed out all the 1001

petty things that clutter our lives: our stocks, our precious career, our

status quo in society.... They make us think of the really important

stuff, such as making time for loved ones, reflecting on our life.

If you were to die today, do you know how you will be remembered?

If you learn that within the next 30 minutes you will be struck down in an

accident, who will you call, and what will you say? Why don?t do you now?

3. Tragedies teach us to be more compassionate, to experience empathy.

Only when we suffer that we start to understand the plight of others in

the same predicament, do we not? Otherwise, other people's tragedies are

just entertainment stories for the many pages of the newspapers....

The true purpose of Death is to remind us to Live. Truly Live.

Lim Swee Choo

Penang, Malysia

Monday, Sep 15, 2003.