Die to Live and Vice Versa

"All endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time..."

If you look down you'll see this familiar quote on my new year's post. It makes perfect sense to me now, our beginnings and endings, life and death, etc. The last three books I've read mentioned a thing or two that relates to the quote above.

In the Genesis Acount, a book I read in the church library, there's a chapter that explains why God allowed entropy in the universe. It says that entropy is essential for our survival. In order for something to live, something must die. It's a continuous cycle. We feed on animals and plants. Our body converts what we consume into energy that keeps us going, that keeps us alive. In return, when we die, we feed the soil with our lifeless bodies. We give back what we had once taken away. In Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie keeps pointing out to Mitch that "when you learn how to die, you learn how to live." In the Five People You Meet In Heaven, another book by Mitch Albom, it points out how the death of someone could give life to another. Just like how the captain's tragic death kept Eddie alive. Or how Eddie's death would give Amy/Annie the chance to live.

And the more I think about it the more I see it happening everywhere - Death and Life. We think of death as contagious but to die is just as natural as it is to live. As Morrie would say, "It's part of the deal we've made."

Have you ever wondered why the tsunami waves didn't reach the Philippines? Our geo professor pointed out that Indonesia broke the waves. If that country wasn't in the map the tsunami would reach mainland Philippines. Imagine waves reaching a height of 40 meters crashing down 4 kilometers inland on a city. The Filipinos couldn't handle such a disaster. The flashfloods that swept Quezon province looked petite compared to the humongous waves that crashed down on South and Southeast Asia. And there we have it again. Those who died in Indonesia gave us Filipinos the chance to live. Death. Life. They're inseperable.

Anyway the death toll is at 150,000+. We should help those who survived the tragedy especially those in Indonesia. We owe them that much.

This entry was posted on January 04, 2005 at 5:20 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.