Don't forget to LIVE.

Today I met death
and I said,
"Please, won't you let her be!"

And he said,
"Let her be what"?
"Alive", said I

He smiled, but shook his head
And asked,
"How do you know
she wasn't alive
till this moment?

Why do you feel the need
to stop me when I'm doing
what matters?

She was alive
She lived well
That's what you have to believe
And then let go"

I looked at him
a few minutes more
and said,
"I'm not ready
to accept this tale of life".

He spoke:
"That is not my concern
hopefully you will someday
until then,
Don't forget to LIVE".*

I came across two death related incidents today. No one I know really, but it affected me nevertheless.

1) My morning started out pretty good. I went to Tim Hortons for breakfast and enjoyed my morning, smiling at the other patrons and getting lost in the book I was reading. All this accompanied by a delicious cup of coffee made me happy. As I was walking back home, I went in through the mini-mall type area. Anyway, inside in front of one of the stores, they have a bunch of benches. In front of one of the benches were a group of policemen, a fireman, and two paramedics. I guess one of the elderly patrons who usually inhabit these benches, had collapsed. They tried to revive her - to no avail. I didn't stand around gawking like the other people, because I just didn't think it was nice. I left when they were giving her chest compressions and signalling to each other that she was well, a lost cause. (Sorry, I just couldn't think of anything else at the moment). I walked out, continuing on my way home, and I called my sister and said, "This life is short. Forget all the nonsense and just make sure you live your life the best way you know how. Really live Varsh". I got a surprised, "erm, didh**?" Then I told her what had happened and she understood where I was coming from. I kept thinking how stupid we can be at times, all the things we can get caught up in. And what matters in the end? To know that you really did the best you could and that you really lived.

What do I mean by really live? Well, act and behave in such a manner that you don't regret not trying. You might regret a mistake (if it hurts someone), but hopefully you'll develop the strength to apologize and move on. Life is short, especially when you want to do so much. Yes, sometimes I do fear death but then it seems on the other side, I fear living.

Anyway, here's the 2nd incident:

This same evening, I was about to walk into a store, when I noticed a sparrow - dead from the cold and don't know what else, lying on the sidewalk. I looked at it for a second and still walked into the store to buy what I had come for. But all the while I was thinking of the sparrow and if I should take it and bury it somewhere instead of leaving it on the sidewalk. I had never done anything like that before and how was I going to take him/her back in the car with my mom (who would freak out if she knew what I was bringing back with me was a dead sparrow). Anyway, I made my decision to stop letting fear guide me and I asked the cashier for an extra bag and went back out and gently picked up the sparrow and put him/her into the bag. I didn't tell my mom anything. After she dropped me at my apartment building, I went to the side of the building entrance and dug up some earth and burried him/her there. It was cold, snowing, my fingers were frozen (since it was hard to dig up the cold earth with one's hands and some odd branches) but at that moment nothing else mattered than giving this poor thing a proper burial. I said a two second prayer for him/her and left - fingers black, heart heavy but happy that I did this instead of just walking by and regretting it. I had a chance to really look at the sparrow and it was a beautiful little creature and I hated that it had died because of the cold.

Anyway, that's my piece. Go and Live.

As Eminem sang,

"Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?"

*I wrote the poem after the morning incident. I wrote it in 5 minutes.
** Didh is what my sister calls me. It's her version of Didi, which in Hindi means elder sister.