Here Comes Christmas Again

Two thousand years ago, give or take a few years, a man and his wife, found their way into Bethlehem. As the story goes and it has been well told for 2,000 years, the couple was turned down by every innkeeper in town.
So the new born child found his new home on earth in a manger for animals. However, his birth was marked by the Star of David which shines on earth forevermore.
He was the messiah as promised by the prophets and as foretold in the Bible. But he brought no army with him, and raised none. In his wake, as a man around 30 years old, he brought forth another message.
It was a message of peace unto mankind and forgiveness for enemies. On top of that, he says all men are brothers, and that includes the women as well. So it came to pass, that his end should come at the cross where he was crucified and nailed.
It was a death, he foresaw and shuddered but as all righteousness shalt be fufilled, he walked steadily to meet destiny and the future of mankind.
Now in the third millennia of civilisation of mankind, the symbol of the cross has spread across the world, across the lands where he had never walked. But the message is the same: love thy neighbour, forgive your enemies and walk in the light of the Almighty.
It is now the evening of the year 2006, and we are standing on the threshold of the dawning of 2007. But before all that, Christmas is upon us again. As citizens of this modern world, quite unlike that which was Nazareth, Jerusalem and Bethlehem of the days of yore, we celebrate Christmas in bright lights, good food and family dinners.
The carpentar who came, saw, preached and died, left his teachings in books and elsewhere in printed form for all of us to remember and learn. This Christmas as in all the past Christmases, we strive to remember others, even as we can't forget ourselves.
Christmas in its true spirit is all about caring for others. Afterall, God has already taken good care of us. The others have not been forgotten by God because we have forgotten them.
The little acts of kindness that we remind ourselves that we must do have been forgotten in the loud cheers of a spirited pub or boisterous restaurant. How many more die quietly and perish in hunger thousands of miles away without our knowledge.
It is Christmas for them, too but where are we? It is time we remember these brothers and sisters of ours in faraway lands. These are the people we have not met and probably won't meet for the rest of our lives.
Modern media have brought their plight to our living rooms. As we partake in our God given festivities and blessings, we should strive to say prayers for our fallen brethern. These are the women, children and the infirm who can't fend for themselves.
Their prayers, if they know how to pray, seemingly go unanswered. But their prayers have been heard by God and now it is our turn as fellow members of this human race to do all we can for them, as much as we can, and as long as we can.
There have been thousands of Christmases over the ages. Each year when the occasion comes, most of us fortunate ones end up partying till the wee hours of the night and into the early hours of the morning.
Even though enjoyment is not a sin itself, perhaps somewhere along the way, we have forgotten what the true spirit of Christmas is all about.
Do we remember the troubled and hungry people of Darfur, do we care for the angry inhabitants of Gaza and West Bank, do we spare a thought for our brethern in North Korea, in every land that has been struck by natural disasters of magnitudes that easily claim lives?
The message by the Nazarene has been the same for two millennia, and it is we must look after our own kind, no matter where they are on earth. Only when these "lost sheep" have been found and cared for, will our own woes begone.
Our future is tied to their worrisome present. Christmas is not so much about celebrating the arrival of the Messiah. He has come and gone. He has done his job and is now back with his Father. We are still on earth, and our duties are not over.
Perhaps it may be unfair to ask each man to do the job of world leaders, perhaps it is too colossel a task for most of us to venture forth and extend a helping hand to all troubled souls in every corner of this earth.
But it won't be difficult to help our next door neighbour who may be unhappy for reasons known only to himself. If we can't help him in a concrete manner, we can extend a ever ready listening ear to his litany of woes.
Help comes in all forms. It is helping an aged citizen to cross a busy road; it is that smile that is unexpected by the stranger; it is the unannounced gift for someone who needs it badly; it is the voice that speaks up for the meek; it is those legs that help seek succour for others too tired to walk: and above all it is that willingness to help total strangers in every way possible.
This is the Light, the Way and the Truth that have been spoken and echoed for ages. We do not belong to the Legion of the Deaf. Why do we not hear? We are not members of the Army of the Blind, why do we not see the misery of others?
The spirit of Christmas is once again sweeping across the world. It is supposed to lighten the burden of our hearts and lift that weight off our minds, and yet we do not do anything to help ourselves.
As we help others, we alleviate our own load. Blessed are they who help others more than they help themselves, for they are the true children of God.
The road to kindness is narrow and winding. The highway to the pursuit of happiness is long and wide. The road to love and compassion is obscure and untarred. The highway to avarice is a dual carriageway.
It's time to rebuild the smaller and much neglected roads because they are the highways to heaven. Unless we get back on the right road, we will forever wander in darkness and in sorrow.
Christmas descends on us once more so that we remember that we are a race of superbeings. That we can do better, because we are better. The light has always been in us. It is part of us, and it is us. Yes, the Star of David shines in perpectuity, but the light in us shines for eternity.
Merry Christmas to all you good folks.

Death takes a friend

Recently, I lost another friend to terminal illness. Death comes these days on swift wings. Earlier this year, a former boss of mine also lost his battle with cancer. He died at 61. My former office colleague died at the age of 51.
It is true to some degree what some people are saying. They are saying that people are dying at younger ages these days. Is it because they pile pressure upon themselves.
Actually, very few people like to discuss the subject of death. Why be so morbid, they would say. It is as if, none of us really dies. I mean if you say a person has passed away, that doesn't mean he's still around.
What's the difference between "died" and "passed away". Whatever term you use, it doesn't change the fact that his lifespan has ended.
We all know Death will be knocking on our doors one of these days, so why wait for it with great anxiety?
I sometimes tell friends that I learn more about Death then from people who think they can outlive others. What's so great about living up to 120? By then, most of your friends are dead and gone.
Children have parents who live up to a ripe old age, are often overheard grumbling that it is becoming an increasing burden to maintain an aged parent or two. Asians normally just bring their aged parents under their roof until it's time for time to die a natural death.

Sometimes, I tell others and myself: "Have we learnt nothing from death?" We are born, we study, we work, we marry and then we die." Surely, life is more than all these.
Well true. Those who live life to the fullest know life is slipping away from them by the minute but they are often too busy to notice. It's fine to live up to 200 years old, provided there's a divine mission in there somewhere.

I have heard someone grumbled once: "I am losing more and more of my friends to death and old age." My reply was "make new friends." Actually, if we can live life as if we will die tomorrow, we will have truly live.
Unfortunately, many of us try our level best to beat Father Time and the man with the hood and sickle. It's when we try too hard to extend our longevity that we lose sight of life's objectives.

Allow me to put it in simpler terms: if you are too preoccupied with eating vitamin supplements and dieting, you will have no time to have fun with your family, go fishing, watching great movies or just plain reading marvellous books.

Every time, a friend of mine dies, a relative checks out of Planet Earth, or just hops on to that one-way celestial flight 101, I ask myself: "So now what have you been doing to make your life and other people's lives better and happier?"
You will be surprised at what I found out. I actually find out that I have been neglecting doing some of the more meaningful things in life. And what are these?
Would you believe taking an early morning walk, breathing in the fresh air and listening to the magpies sing in the trees a great pastime? Or, riding a motorcycle with no special purpose in mind other than feeling the cool wind against your cheeks, another great thing to do?
Well, these are really fun things to do. A friend of mine just stopped by at my desk about a minute ago and said something about making money. I told him, one doesn't have to be rich to be happy. He said something about not many people are in the state of zen.
Actually, we don't have to take the "long route" but if we just simplify our lives and cut down on unnecessary chores, we will carry far less burden on our shoulders.
When you tell some people this, they may inadvertently think you are preaching to them. And yet there are people who actually saunter up to your house or living room and want a conversation about life and its priorities.
I have spent a number of decades on earth. I am no genius. I am no philosopher but there are some things I know from other people's experiences. Surprise of surprises, I learn a lot when I hear or read about the death of colleagues, relatives and others.
What's so terrifying about death? People think of death in the wrong terms. They think when they die, they will have not spent enough of money to enjoy themselves to the fullest. They believe that if they can't live an extra 10 years, they have not fulfilled their destiny. They are firmly convinced that if they have not visited the 10 most visited holiday resorts around the world, they would have failed as human beings.

Pity them? No. Just lead a useful, productive life, and you will know the true meaning of personal fulfilment. The happiness that you generate for others will be the happiness given unto you. The love that you give and share with others is the love that will surround your life.

When people ask me what is the secret of true happiness, I tell them to look at the simple things in life. What are these simple things? Well, for a start, family. If you have a happy family and much of the happiness under your roof comes from your kindness and compassion and selfless acts of charity, then you would be considered to have seen the brighter side of simplicity.

The other simple thing is food. Do not try to eat everything on the table. You only have one mouth and one stomach. When you have had enough, please stop. That's not rocket science. That's commonsense.

If you can't visit Barbados this year, try not to cry yourself to sleep. Take a drive to a small town, sit in a rundown coffeeshop and make conversation with strangers, you may find it being more beneficial than sunbathing with strangers who really don't want to talk to you at all.

Again, we come back to the subject of life and death. If you don't have a stretch limousine, don't be blue. Billions of people on earth don't have stretch limos. Big cars don't bring happiness, they just take up more parking space and become a target for car thieves.

When you are trying too hard to earn an extra million or two, stop and ponder over the fact that God may call you home early tomorrow morning. Then, where will all your earthly possessions take you?

You leave them all behind, you dope! You take nothing with you. You take with you the intangibles, like love, memories, kindness, prayers and sincerity. All these that are given freely by you, will in turn be freely be given unto you.

The gates of heaven are only open to those who have no earthly baggage. God's house only admits the things that he recognises. The peace, harmony and happiness that you have created or generated while you were on earth will be accounted for in the treasury of heaven.

All that is done in His good name will be checked in at heaven's gate. Death is the final arbiter of your time on earth. Being good at making money on earth simply means just that - you are only good for making money on earth. Heaven wants no part of that because money is not legal tender in heaven.

Next time, you come face to face with Death, stare at him straight in the face, he may be trying to tell you something.