From the Diaspora...LIFE DOES HAVE AN EXPIRY DATE FOLKS

From the Diaspora…LIFE DOES HAVE AN EXPIRY DATE FOLKS

Dec 08, 2013 News

By Ralph Seeram
“She had not talked to me for a year,” the e-mail said to which I replied, ‘The individual needs to grow up and realize life. “Life has an expiry date”
I am sure many of you readers have gone through phases of life where someone is not talking to you or vice versa, relatives not talking to each other, division in families where sometimes brother not talking to sisters, children not speaking to their parents.
To give you an idea of the silly reasons people stop talking to each other, in the example above, the “not talking “ relative died and was being buried the same weekend another relative was getting married. One decided to go to the funeral while the other decided to go to the out of state wedding; it was a difficult choice, so each made her own choice. The one sister who went to the funeral disagreed with the other who went to the wedding, hence she stopped talking to her.
Now tell me, is that a reason to stop talking to someone? I think when you get down to the roots of these disagreements, it is a case where one wants to impose one’s will or control over the other person. Some people tend to be very controlling and if you do not give in to their behaviour, you become the enemy hence, “I am not talking to you”
Unlike the groceries on the shelves of the supermarket which state the expiry date, we humans do not know our expiry date, yet we go on in life carrying grudges, some to our graves.
I have attended funerals where the relatives were not talking to the deceased in life but crying hysterically over the dead body, venting their regrets as if the deceased can hear. The festive season is upon us; it is the season of goodwill. I mentioned in a previous article how Guyanese on Christmas Day reach out to their neighbors to express season’s greetings, sometimes inviting them over for a “drink”, neighbours to whom they may not have spoken for the entire year. Why should we wait until Christmas to extend goodwill?
Some people carry grudges for decades. I recall some years ago, while on a trip to Guyana I was asked to deliver some money to the father of a cousin of mine. On my return to the U S I was confronted by the ex wife who was very annoyed that the daughter had sent money for her father, telling me all the faults of the father. But here is the sad part, she has been divorced from him for some forty years, and for those 40 years she has been carrying a grudge.
In response I told her that she needed to free herself of her hatred since it was like a cancer eating away at her heart.
“A joyful heart makes the face cheerful, but by a painful heart the sprit is broken” Proverbs 15:13
This week I was drawn to a post on Facebook which partly prompted me to write this article, it spoke about five simple rules to be happy, (I) Free your heart from hatred FORGIVE, (2) Free your mind from worries, give more of you, (3) Live simply, appreciate what you have, (4) Give more. (5) Expect less from people but give more of your selves.
This week my four-year-old grandson was showing me on his Ipad, (yes he has his own Ipad, welcome to the new digital generation) the story of the Lion and the Mouse, which he pulled up on YouTube. It’s a parable that was explained to me in my primary school days. I was surprised that the story is still being told.
My grandson wanted to know why the mouse came to the rescue of the lion, eating away at the nets to free the Lion. So I had to explain the moral of the story about not making enemies and the need to forgive, as your enemy can be your friend in your time of need and distress as the lion found out in the story.
Some 100 persons have lost their lives in road fatalities in Guyana so far this year. I am sure the adults killed never thought that they would not see Christmas this year, we sometimes tend to think the uncertainty of life is for the other person, it does not apply to us, until it “hits” close to home.
Today more than ever, communication is at our fingertip, be it phone or social media, so as the Christmas season descends on us, go ahead and make the call to the person you stopped talking to. If you do not want to talk on the phone, send an email to break the ice, and take from there.
If the other party does not respond to overtures well your conscience is clear you did your part.
Ralph Seeram can be reached at email [email protected]

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From the Diaspora…LIFE DOES HAVE AN EXPIRY DATE FOLKS

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