Death is not the end of life’s journey, but the beginning of a new one.

In loving memory of and a tribute to our beloved sis Mey Mey.

“A final goodbye to you, dearest Liew Mey Mey. Rest in peace.

Your sweet smile and happy laughter will always be remembered.

Death is not the end of life’s journey, but the beginning of a new one.”

 

“Drawings by my youngest ‘gugu’,when she is still able to hold crayons, now she juz left us to a better place… 姑姑..，我们会一直陪着您~”

~ Bowie Liew, September 13

From my niece’s latest posting on her aunt’s (my late sister-in-law) death in Singapore.

Mey Mey dream of coming back to KL to visit her parents and siblings but too sick to make the trip. This is how she imagine her trip home would be….(picture drawn on Sept 4 in Tan Tock Seng Hospital)

An unfinished art – On Sept 4, Mey Mey wanted to draw a family potrait but being so stricken with cancer, she could not finish it. Here, she only managed to draw herself….

In every tragedy, there is a lesson to be learned. Last week, I lost a sister-in-law who is like a sister to me although we do not share the same blood and flesh.

Each year, during Chinese New Year, we would be looking forward to see her and her children coming back from another country for reunion but alas, year after year, it would be something like, “I cannot come back, I have to work during Chinese New Year!” and so we did not get to meet up. Never mind, another year then, we used to tell each other. After all, we are still so young and busting with health. We took it for granted that we will always be around.

Soon, the festival was over and everybody went back to their lives, busy earning a living and taking care of their families. Everything was forgotten.

Then one day, out of the blue, a bomb landed on our ears. She got cancer with only a few days of life left. Come and see her for the last time, her husband told us urgently.

And when we went to see her, she could hardly recognize us anymore. It was with a very heavy heart that we let her go in peace. We won’t get to see her again the next Chinese New Year and every Chinese New Year for that matter. We have simply let the chance slipped away……

Grab every opportunity to be with your loved ones – be they your family, relatives or friends. Life is so fragile – it is like a flame that could easily extinguish by a gush of wind or a thread that could easily snap into two.

If you harbor hatred towards someone and use it as an excuse to avoid him or her, it is very stupid of you. Your hatred will not burn that person; it will only burn you. Why let hatred burdened you down?

The Buddha said, “The greatest donation is forgiveness.” Yes, be generous with forgiveness. You will be so much lighter and happier without hatred.

‘I am so happy to have spend quality time with that person’ would be so much easier on our mind than ‘if only I have spend sometime with her.’ At least you have beautiful memories to comfort you rather than guilt to torture you for the rest of your days.