Many a times, we often see things from our perspective (i.e. from one viewpoint). There was this one time when I had a small discussion with a friend of mine and of course we couldn't come to terms on the subject matter. I could be wrong but I think, we were debating on the ever famous topic of "whether the egg or the chicken came first".
After about half an hour of back and forth comments, my friend finally just stopped and said, "you know what, I'd be more than happy to look at things from your point of view, but I simply cannot stick my head that far up my own rear end!". Both of us ended up laughing at the comment he made so spontaneously, but I have to admit there is some element of truth to his statement - we hardly look at things from a different perspective unless we are forced to.
My maternal side grandfather passed on about five years ago. He did not die from any disease in particular but simply from the expiry of his bodily functions. He literally died at work, at his office desk when everyone else thought he was taking nap not knowing he had already passed on. Until the very last second of his life, he refused to stay at home and insisted on going to work.
He died when he was 78 years of age if I recall rightly, by the time he was 75 years old I could clearly see him deteriorating - congestive heart problems, weak knees, bad cough and high blood pressure constantly making him go dizzy. I am sure he could have lived on longer if it weren't was his drinking habits during his younger days. Not that I can blame him for drinking since he worked in a labour intensive job.
At one point in time, I overheard him telling my mom, "look, if I ever end up in any form of intensive care, just pull the plug. I don't want to be a burden to any of my kids". I respected his decision and I deep down I knew that he knew what he was saying. He was far from being senile and neither was he even reaching that stage.
Few months before he passed on, we already noticed his physical deterioration getting more distinct and knew his time was coming to an end soon. One day, he was squatting down by the garden trying really hard to trim the wild grass and I overheard him talking to himself (not the exact words but something to this effect), "I hate being seen in this horrible condition! Once an independent man doing everything by my own, now humbled like a young child. *sigh*". About 2 months later, my parents got a phone call from my uncle breaking the news of his death.
Ironically, on his last birthday he mentioned something like, "I may not have been rich, but I had a lot of good food during my younger days, drank a lot more alchohol than I should have been drinking but what the heck? But you know what? We all got to go someday. If I die right now, I'd be happy and satisfied - all my kids doing fairly well, eaten all my favourite food and done what I have been tasked to do as a parent. If I ever end up in a miserable state, I'd rather be dead. I don't want any of my close ones to see me in a pitiful condition. I know all of you love me, and I love you guys too. But I don't want any of you to see me when I kick the bucket, I don't want any of you to be holding my hand when I die. That's what you guys want, not what I want. I want to leave this world happy and I don't want any of you crying by my bed. There are two sides to a coin - even when it comes to dying".
After about half an hour of back and forth comments, my friend finally just stopped and said, "you know what, I'd be more than happy to look at things from your point of view, but I simply cannot stick my head that far up my own rear end!". Both of us ended up laughing at the comment he made so spontaneously, but I have to admit there is some element of truth to his statement - we hardly look at things from a different perspective unless we are forced to.
My maternal side grandfather passed on about five years ago. He did not die from any disease in particular but simply from the expiry of his bodily functions. He literally died at work, at his office desk when everyone else thought he was taking nap not knowing he had already passed on. Until the very last second of his life, he refused to stay at home and insisted on going to work.
He died when he was 78 years of age if I recall rightly, by the time he was 75 years old I could clearly see him deteriorating - congestive heart problems, weak knees, bad cough and high blood pressure constantly making him go dizzy. I am sure he could have lived on longer if it weren't was his drinking habits during his younger days. Not that I can blame him for drinking since he worked in a labour intensive job.
At one point in time, I overheard him telling my mom, "look, if I ever end up in any form of intensive care, just pull the plug. I don't want to be a burden to any of my kids". I respected his decision and I deep down I knew that he knew what he was saying. He was far from being senile and neither was he even reaching that stage.
Few months before he passed on, we already noticed his physical deterioration getting more distinct and knew his time was coming to an end soon. One day, he was squatting down by the garden trying really hard to trim the wild grass and I overheard him talking to himself (not the exact words but something to this effect), "I hate being seen in this horrible condition! Once an independent man doing everything by my own, now humbled like a young child. *sigh*". About 2 months later, my parents got a phone call from my uncle breaking the news of his death.
Ironically, on his last birthday he mentioned something like, "I may not have been rich, but I had a lot of good food during my younger days, drank a lot more alchohol than I should have been drinking but what the heck? But you know what? We all got to go someday. If I die right now, I'd be happy and satisfied - all my kids doing fairly well, eaten all my favourite food and done what I have been tasked to do as a parent. If I ever end up in a miserable state, I'd rather be dead. I don't want any of my close ones to see me in a pitiful condition. I know all of you love me, and I love you guys too. But I don't want any of you to see me when I kick the bucket, I don't want any of you to be holding my hand when I die. That's what you guys want, not what I want. I want to leave this world happy and I don't want any of you crying by my bed. There are two sides to a coin - even when it comes to dying".
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