With the recent occurrences of the passing away of a few high profile personalities, I could not help but had on some occasions compare the similarity between a lifetime with the burning of a candle. Candles come in all kinds of shapes, length, sizes..some even scented.
It reflects the qualities of the candles. Candles burn under different types of conditions..windy, calm, some protected in lamps etc..the different environments that the candles burn in..but one thing for sure,the flame will burn out one day..
All living things will have their lifetime end one day, you can be the Prime Minister's mother, you can be a Minister of State, you can be a Member of Parliament, you can live to be more than 100 years old..but we all still have to face this fact.
All over the world, new lives are created while many also ended at the same time. It has been like that since the beginning of time. When we were younger, the people who were passing away around us used to be our grandparents..as we grow older,the people who are passing away move towards our parents' generation. Before we know it, it's going to be our friends or ourselves ultimately going to face the end of our lives.
My uncle passed away recently alone at home and it was until hours later when we got the fireman,together with the Police to break into his flat before we discovered the fact. He was 61 years old and I did not expect he will no longer be around at this age.
My uncle was a smoker and drinker just like me..in fact,he was the only one in the family who had these habits. He was just a simple,straight forward 'candle' with not much of a formal education and handicapped in one arm since he was young.
When I went to school, had a very restricted amount of pocket money from my parents and it was this uncle who would supply me with a 4 figure amount of pocket money..I never felt poor as a student. When he passed away with only twenty-something dollars in his bank account, can you imagine how really awful I felt..? The real legacy that he left behind for us cannot simply be measured in dollars and cents.
One of the last conversations he had with me was when we were smoking at the birthday party of my nieces. He told me in Teochew that smoking is not good for health at all..don't smoke lah..I did not expect that to be our last real conversation.
When he did not appear at the market as usual,my family got worried and asked me to go up to his place to take a look. I knocked on the door and called out to him, but there were no response. I thought he must have gone out somewhere..what I did not know at that point in time..he was already dead in his kitchen..
The one thing that I am very sure..this uncle of mine, when his candle was burning bright, he lighted up the lives of all members in my extended family..especially that of his many nephews and nieces.
Is your candle lighting up the lives of other candles around you?
