Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Learning for Life (08/23/04)
TITLE: Again and again By Rene Uys 08/29/04 |
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT SEND ARTICLE TO A FRIEND |
I need more coffee.
With my second cup of comfort secured, I continue my epic search through the eyes of life as it is printed on the paper in my hands. Page after page is filled with something - advertisements, cartoons, etc. My eyes come to rest on the announcement of a baby girl’s birth. For a brief moment I become part of this joyous occasion, sharing the excitement of a new life with them. Unfortunately my excitement is short-lived. The column next to the birth announcements brings me into touch with reality. With a morbid heart my eyes rush over the obituaries. Then it struck me like a bolt of lightning. Life is actually all about dying. Yes it is true; from the moment my life began I am on a collision course with death.
I look up from the newspaper, purposefully listening to the sound of the rain beating against the window in front of me. My mind is racing through my new discovery and the cold coffee next to me is of no concern at this moment. Paging through the memories of my heart I stop at the entry of an incident that happened a few years ago. I met a very famous man. I can remember people talking about him and I met people who knew him, but that day I came face to face with him. He looked down at me and said: “It is finished.” Then I saw Him die – for me. (Suddenly the cliché “Born to die” rings very loud and true in my ears.) On that day, I died to my old self and I embraced the new in Him. The process of death had begun in my life. A few days later I was buried with Him in a grave of water and a few minutes later I was raised with Him. The strange thing I now realise is, the more I die, the more I live. I have come to learn that dying is a part of my every day life. With this thought in mind I take my cold coffee and pour it down the sink. The day is stretched ahead of me, pregnant with opportunity and possibilities - to live and to die. With this revelation I walk into the bathroom where I soon discover the toothpaste cap has mysteriously disappeared from the tube. The desire to get frustrated is nearly overwhelming, but I find the cap and close the tube without a fuss. I die to the urge to get upset. There is a wet towel lying in the corner and I bend down to pick it up. Life is happening, as usual.