“If it were possible to talk to the unborn, one could never explain to them how it feels to be alive, for life is washed in the speechless real.” -Jacques Barzun, The House of Intellect
“ I will be late for class.” I muttered to myself as I looked out of the FX taxi’s window as waves of nausea and irritation engulfed me. Pictures of people at work and landmarks that I had seen for the thousandth time dragged past me in monotonous blurs. I got tired of scanning my review materials and placed it back in my file case. What good will it do me anyway?
For half an hour already, the FX taxi progressed like a caterpillar as I resigned myself to my fate: I would be late for the class recitation. The other passengers in the backseat shared my increasing annoyance as they let go of dissatisfied sighs.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the face of a newspaper boy came into view. I took notice of today’s headlines—another series of murders, rampant kidnap-for-ransom incidents, and a follow-up news on the recent typhoon which claimed many lives.
My mind drifted off to the details unfolding before my eyes. Suddenly it dawned on me how so many lives are lost everyday. Crime and tragedy strike like a thief who robs you in the middle of the night, leaving you to wake up to a dreadful nightmare.
“How wonderful it is to be alive, to breathe the first dawn of the morning,” a survivor once uttered. Nothing is more beautiful than to behold God’s creations — soft sunsets, dewdrops, acquaintances, and loved-ones among other things.
When dawn breaks beckoning a new day, we get so lost in the seemingly endless activities of the day that time doesn’t seem enough to accomplish most of our workload. Caught in the hustle-and-bustle of this world, we sometimes drain our energy, worrying what the day will bring instead of really appreciating the significance of our existence.
I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I barely noticed that it was time for me to get off. Clutching my belongings, I scampered to the nearest gate of the university.
I glanced at the clock on top of the Main Building. I was late for my class, but it didn’t matter. I just thanked God for letting me live another day.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we rejoice in Your wonderful gift of life. Grant that through Your help, we may nurture it and that we may live our life according to Your will. Help us to understand that life is a journey toward that destination—to share in the paradise that You have prepared for us. We also lift up to You, O Lord, our burdens that You may grant us the strength to overcome them. Burn in my heart the yearning to turn to You, in spite of the worldly things that sometimes make us unaware of Your presence. Instill in us the magnanimity of Your works that we may use them as our inspiration in going through our daily routines. These we ask, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Amen.
