By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
We were together in college about 45 years ago. With that length of time we had acquired enough nuggets of wisdom. The other day, we had lunch together. Except for one of the six of us we ordered healthy food, that is, plant based. One of us begged off from the suggestion of a tofu dish. Perhaps he knew that high protein food can be taxing to the kidneys. So he chose an all veggie item in the menu.
I guess all the five us who were health conscious have realized that we, as one of us poetically put it, are in the sunset of our lives. An in your face way of saying it is, we are not young anymore.
The only one who ordered a meat-based dish must have been quite confident his body can combat the disadvantages of such food at an advanced age. He justified it though by saying that his wife was always feeding him vegetables.
Well, those who are now undergoing dialysis or chemotherapy and those who suffered a heart attack or stroke were once confident, even cocky about their past reckless choices of foods, beverages and vices, or in general their lifestyle. Some were even pilosopo when some well meaning raltives or friends dared to comment.
As some peokle would say in resignationn, KKK– kanya kanyang katok or kaya’y kaligayahan. And when the inevitable happens we can only commiserate with the families..
But then again eveybody has to come face to face with the end of the road. But we should be happy about that because as Christians we will go to heaven. Would you not like to go to heaven?
Even those who are believers of reincarnation—as a process of evolution– should be happy about dying because their circumstances would become better when they will be born again. Unless they committed some sins for which they will have to be born as unfortunates to suffer for their past transgressions. For instance, being born a beggar or with some congenital diseases to atone for past transgressions.
So I don’t pray for people not to die for the time will always come. Of course it will be painful for close relations but this is part of a natural order of events that happen..
But there is one thing I always pray for when somebody I know is about to face the end. That it will not be painful. Yet so many had to go through extended suffering before they finallyt succumb—fighting up to the end for dear life.
Others, even after an extended painfukl existence, were at peace when the end was near, or even before that. They, as one client put it, have realized that the suffering was a cleaning process in prepeartiuon for their eventual meeting with their Maker.
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During the lunch, we talked about the possibility of undertaking some activities as a way of giving back. This was because we believed that we were relatively OK and that in return we should do something for others.
What came up and it appeared to have been unanimously agreed upon was to go out to some Cordilleras high schools and help in making graduating students aware of career options which are up to this time not popular in this region.
Such courses include agriculture and forestry courses which are often misunderstood. People think that those taking such courses will only end up as forest guards or gardineros. Definitely not. Thjese are science courses whose graduates become scientists if they pursue their studies all the way by taking up post graduate studies,
There are also lots of scholarship opportunities in these fields including chances to study abroad.
Graduates will also have a lot of employment opportunities.
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After the lumch, we said goodbye to each other in an upbeat mood. For it is always good to meet old buddies. **
