You Just Have To ...

Have you been in a near-death situation wherein you saw your life flash upon you and got the chance to finally think if you did things right, if you lived your life to the fullest, or if you mattered to the people around you? 

If yes, what happened and what effect did it cause you?

If no, you should be grateful and pick up what you can learn from those who did.

To answer my own question, “No, I haven't.”

But to the people who were in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand on December 26, 2004, their lives changed dramatically when the Boxing Day Tsunami occurred.

I happened to watch 7 parts of the “Tsunami – Caught on Camera” video from YouTube. It’s a compilation of amateur videos from first hand witnesses of the catastrophic madness of waves up to 35 meters high. The documentation made me see what happened that day from different vantage points. There were over 200, 000 casualties and 1/3 of which were children, making it the 6th deadliest earthquake in recorded history.  

via PosiTim
It was a devastating tragedy and a reminder to everyone how life could end in just a snap.  So I thought of my life, my fears, my contribution, my anxieties, my problems, and everything else that I could think of. I asked myself, “If I were there dying, was I able to give my best to live my life fully? Did I let the people that I love know and feel how much I really love them?”  

by Pink Sherbet Photography
I asked this because most of the time, even if it’s a given fact that our relationships are valuable to us, we seem to take people for granted. Sometimes, we think that they will always be there. But just like you and me, the people around us will be gone without knowing when for sure. Does a tsunami have to happen before you really make them feel how much they mean to you?

via Evil Erin
Sweet Says … I told myself that I am not going to wait for such a tragic moment to happen. I know that it’s a cliché. Some people may think that they have a lot of things on their plate and do not have the time to get a lecture from a blogger but I just hope you consider thinking things over. Will the things you do today matter to the people you love especially when you’re gone for good?