Had an idyllic holiday with my family at Redang Island, bathing in the crystal clear turquoise sea water, snorkelling for hours surrounded by shoals of fishes and gazing at big sea cucumbers and unspoilt corals.
Perhaps staying afloat in a life jacket (facing downwards) for hours may have affected my brains a little. Back at the beach, waking up from a nap, lounged on a deck chair in a paivlion draped with white chiffon curtains, I began to entertain strange thoughts. The soft drone of a far off motor boat, the chirpings of the birds, the figures dotting the sea, toddlers playing sand on the beach, people lazing on rows of deck chairs under attap sheds and insects buzzing around became part of a painting in a big white canvas. BUT a hundred years from that moment, not a single life in that picture would remain, no not even the corals beneath the sea. Yes all would have passed on and a totally new set of life will be there in its place. Perhaps a tree or a form of flora may be still around, otherwise none of the plentiful living things in this painting still live. And yes, such is the nature of the world, life moves on only to be replaced by others, there is no holding on.
In the evening, dining at the seaside restaurant, entertained by my daughter's amusing anecdotes and exaggerated descriptions of her classmates in New York, I was having such a good feeling when suddenly I thought to myself how good it would be if the world stood still at that moment forever. Yes I wanted that feeling to remain forever. The zest for new experiences and new adventures was in her blood whereas for me it was the wish to hold on to a good feeling. Therein lies the difference in needs between her and me.
No comments:
Post a Comment