26 May 2007

A Slice Of Life - Eulogy (Death Of A Friend)


Last week, I bought a CD which was produced and presented by Mr Eugene Loh, Senior Producer/Presenter and Music Director of 938Live Station of MediaCorp Radio (S) Pte Ltd. It was titled "A Slice Of Life - Vol. 1".

Eugene has a very calming, soothing and therapeutic voice. His stories are still being broadcast 3 times a day, I think. I usually listen to the 7.55 am broadcast while driving to work. For the CD, I find Track No. 19 particularly meaningful. It is called "Eulogy (Death Of A Friend)" and below is its transcription:

A friend of mine passed away recently. And once again, I am reminded of the fragility of life. Somehow we don't think that the people around us - our colleagues, our family members, our friends - can actually die. Sure we all know that death is very much a part of life. But it's only when misfortune strikes that we are violently jolted out of our comfort zone, where we were nestling comfortably, thinking that we will all live to a ripe old age. But our lives can indeed be taken from us at any time regardless of how young or healthy we are. And the point is not to huddle in a dark corner fearing it but to make full use of every opportunity to love and appreciate the people around us. So that when they do pass on, we can be comforted by the fact that we have given all the love we had to give. And that the time has come now for someone else to hold the hands of the ones we have lost.

Funny how a heart beats
It finds its own rhythm

Amidst the cacophony of life
We're raised

Then suddenly take a fall
In a moment we're as dizzy

As the tight-rope artiste
Suddenly without a parasol

Paths cross haphazardly
And no one sees beyond the bend

We always choose to make our enemies
But we never choose to make our friends

Our plans were never grand
The visions we pursued were never really realised

We never packed the house
And the house has mostly sent us packing

But while the music played
The world became small and simple

And our hearts were dancing
So this is where you have gone and this is where you will wait

With the ones who left early
For the ones who will arrive late

We all have tickets for the same destination
Just different dates

Thanks for the ride my friend
Now we must ride on our own

There are many things I can't be certain of
But I'm sure you're not alone

In our darkest hours
You'll be in our hearts

Music brought us together
And through it, our souls will never part

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the post Victor. It shows the great importance in paying attention to the things which matter. Life is fragile and unpredictable, and being too busy is sometimes a bad excuse for not spending enough time with our loved ones.

Eugene Loh's Slice of Life has always been one of my favourite programmes on 938 Live! He researches on these little vignettes which add so much more meaning and inspiration to my day.

Lam Chun See said...

As you have rightly pointed here and an earlier post, life is brief and uncertain. But I think Eugene's Loh's recommendation; "to make full use of every opportunity to love and appreciate the people around us" is incomplete. Many of us not only do not love and appreciate the people around us, we offend too many people. So, I think the most important thing is to make right with everyone we have offended, especially our Creator.

Victor said...

Thanks for your comments, Walter and Chun See. We all know that things which are really important in our lives are not really things but people and our relationship with them. If we could love everyone including our enemies, the world would be a much better place to live in. However, not many people can live up to that.

KopiSoh said...

Hi Victor, just came by to see how you are doing, you seem to be quite introspective these days, hope you are okay. I just lost a friend last week too so this poem speaks to me

Victor said...

Hi Firehorse, thanks for dropping by. Don't worry, I am alright. It's only that I'm in a reflective mood recently. I hope your mammogram results turned out okay.

alphabet soup said...

A post worth reflecting on Victor.

Soup of the Day material.... lately I seem to put more things into my Soup of the Day than I do my regular posts . Too much to do -
not enough time to do it in.

Ms Soup

Victor said...

Ms Soup - It doesn't matter who contributes the ingredients so long as the end result is a delicious broth, which I am sure it is. :)

KopiSoh said...

Thanks for asking I am still waiting for results but will keep optimistic :o)
Glad you are okay, it's just that I dun wanna lose you like I did Chris.

Victor said...

Thank you for your concern, FH. I am not about to stop blogging yet.