Is there life after death?
Found this on my first amateur website (geocities) - my first attempt of writing an article. It has been four years and I still miss William...
This has been one of the question which I have struggled to answer since very young. It just popped up innocently in my head on the day my grandfather passed away. I cried and got over it but with no answers to my question. Not until recently, when I lost a friend to the will-o'-the wisp. He fell in the toilet and did not wake up.
I learn of the the macabre news on one Saturday afternoon.
"3SG William Ong from 1 PEH has just passed away at 1400 hrs. Brain dead. Report to camp at 0800 hrs sharp tomorrow."
It was an SMS from my friend and we have been activated to go back to camp to prepare for our comrade's funeral. His parents have requested for a military funeral to send their eldest son off.
It was a Sunday and all of us were supposed to be enjoying our weekend before going back to the monotonous and regimental army life. Furthermore, it was World Cup. However, that fateful Sunday proved to be differnt. A selected group of us were appointed to be pallbearers for the funeral. Though we all had different religious backgrounds, none of us objected. It was the last thing we can do for our friend.
During that one-day, we rehearsed and got ourselves prepared for Monday. The funeral was in the evening. Carrying a coffin was not an easy task. It was not like we were told to carry an Engineer Assault Bridge from one end to another. And it was not an everyday thing either.
On the actual day, as we carried his coffin into the hall, we were all adamant to do our best to send William off. No hiccups or whatsover. There was a sense of forlorn in every one of us. Tears swelled in our eyes as we carry his burden that he left behind this world. As we slow-marched down the winding road, the weight of the coffin did not bothered me anymore. Yet my heart was burdrened. Where am I sending him to? Is he happy to go? is there anything that was still unfulfilled? Were there any last words?
In the hall, where the priest was doing the final prayers, I glanced to the family from the window inside. I could see their tear-streamed faces contorted with helplessness and misery. At another corner of the hall, I saw a girl happily playing with her Barbie doll, oblivious of what was happening. And at the end of the funeral, some of the visitors rushed back to their vehicles, afraid to be caught in the jam. I even overheard a guy saying, "Want to watch Panic Room later at Suntec?"
How do each one of us perceive death? Do we grieve because we know that he will not return, knowing very well that there is no way of seeing him anymore? Or do we feel sad because we do not know where our friend has gone to?
This was a door that has been opened to William without any warning. It was his door, not ours. What we could do was to send him off and pray that what lie beyond the door would be a better life, a life without any more pain, a life with a very light yoke.
Life is so wanton. We work so hard not knowing when the door will open for us to go. So is there life after death? If there is, will his parents be consoled? William's death has set me thinking again. Some chose to think that death is an end to everything. That explains why some people live everyday of there life as if it was their last. I once read this book by Dean Koontz that vividly painted life as ice on an early winter-pond, more fragile than it appeared to be, riddled with hidden fractures, yet with a cold darkness below. And I start to ponder - is death the cold darkness hidden beneath? However, on a brighter note, I am starting to believe that death is merely a checkpoint to a better life - a greener pasture - with no pain and worries. William could well be enjoying himself somewhere,. Well, it is my guess and I may be wrong.
This article was written in remembrance to 3SG William Ong from 1PDF. He was also a former student of NUS (Chemical Engineering)
This has been one of the question which I have struggled to answer since very young. It just popped up innocently in my head on the day my grandfather passed away. I cried and got over it but with no answers to my question. Not until recently, when I lost a friend to the will-o'-the wisp. He fell in the toilet and did not wake up.
I learn of the the macabre news on one Saturday afternoon.
"3SG William Ong from 1 PEH has just passed away at 1400 hrs. Brain dead. Report to camp at 0800 hrs sharp tomorrow."
It was an SMS from my friend and we have been activated to go back to camp to prepare for our comrade's funeral. His parents have requested for a military funeral to send their eldest son off.
It was a Sunday and all of us were supposed to be enjoying our weekend before going back to the monotonous and regimental army life. Furthermore, it was World Cup. However, that fateful Sunday proved to be differnt. A selected group of us were appointed to be pallbearers for the funeral. Though we all had different religious backgrounds, none of us objected. It was the last thing we can do for our friend.
During that one-day, we rehearsed and got ourselves prepared for Monday. The funeral was in the evening. Carrying a coffin was not an easy task. It was not like we were told to carry an Engineer Assault Bridge from one end to another. And it was not an everyday thing either.
On the actual day, as we carried his coffin into the hall, we were all adamant to do our best to send William off. No hiccups or whatsover. There was a sense of forlorn in every one of us. Tears swelled in our eyes as we carry his burden that he left behind this world. As we slow-marched down the winding road, the weight of the coffin did not bothered me anymore. Yet my heart was burdrened. Where am I sending him to? Is he happy to go? is there anything that was still unfulfilled? Were there any last words?
In the hall, where the priest was doing the final prayers, I glanced to the family from the window inside. I could see their tear-streamed faces contorted with helplessness and misery. At another corner of the hall, I saw a girl happily playing with her Barbie doll, oblivious of what was happening. And at the end of the funeral, some of the visitors rushed back to their vehicles, afraid to be caught in the jam. I even overheard a guy saying, "Want to watch Panic Room later at Suntec?"
How do each one of us perceive death? Do we grieve because we know that he will not return, knowing very well that there is no way of seeing him anymore? Or do we feel sad because we do not know where our friend has gone to?
This was a door that has been opened to William without any warning. It was his door, not ours. What we could do was to send him off and pray that what lie beyond the door would be a better life, a life without any more pain, a life with a very light yoke.
Life is so wanton. We work so hard not knowing when the door will open for us to go. So is there life after death? If there is, will his parents be consoled? William's death has set me thinking again. Some chose to think that death is an end to everything. That explains why some people live everyday of there life as if it was their last. I once read this book by Dean Koontz that vividly painted life as ice on an early winter-pond, more fragile than it appeared to be, riddled with hidden fractures, yet with a cold darkness below. And I start to ponder - is death the cold darkness hidden beneath? However, on a brighter note, I am starting to believe that death is merely a checkpoint to a better life - a greener pasture - with no pain and worries. William could well be enjoying himself somewhere,. Well, it is my guess and I may be wrong.
This article was written in remembrance to 3SG William Ong from 1PDF. He was also a former student of NUS (Chemical Engineering)
posted by Tripp at 11:00 AM
3 Comments:
hugs!
dear, an interesting article on your question.
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/life-after-death.htm
Enjoy..:)
life after death- reuniting with the universe as dust... and the cycle continues...
*hugz*
-=oneheart=-
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