We’re all going to die one day

“Mementi mori” is latin for “remember that you have to die”.

The thought of death is not meant to scare us, but to help us learn how to live. When we realise how fragile and short life is, we learn to get our priorities straight, to be fully alive, and to be thankful for all the people we meet and experiences we have.

透過思想死亡，讓我們想想如何好好活著。生命是如此短暫和脆弱，我們需要認清對我們真正重要的是什麼。當死亡是人生的一部分，也許我們反而學會感恩，生命裡所有的相遇、所有不能用金錢來衡量的禮物......

死亡可能很接近，但它提醒我們要好好活著 - 真正的活出生命！

Rise

My friend says she used to say a prayer before bed, but would wait to say “amen” when she got up in the morning. That way the prayer would start at night and end in the morning, and protect her throughout her sleep.

Sleeping is a bit like dying, because you lose consciousness and you have no control of what actually happens to you. But we still voluntarily go to sleep every night, then complain about getting up in the morning. We forget that every morning we get up, it’s nothing less than a miracle.

我的朋友說她以前會在睡前祈禱，但會等到早上起床時才說「阿們」。 這樣，祈禱會從晚上開始，到早上結束，並在她整個睡眠的期間保護她。 

睡覺有點像死亡，因為睡覺時你會失去意識，你又無法控制什麼事會發生在自己身上。但我們仍然每天晚上自動自覺去睡覺，然後第二天不願起床。我們忘記了每天早上起床，其實是一個奇蹟。

Flower

Flowers seem somewhat useless because they only exist for a while. They sit by the side of a road for a week, and then they die.

And yet we give people flowers on their birthdays, graduations, weddings, and funerals.

I think it’s because flowers are a symbol of life. Their only responsibility as a flower is to live. And when flowers are alive, you know they’re alive. They’re the brightest colors. They bloom. They light up a hospital room as well as a dinner table. They live the best they can, and when they have to die, they do it in style.

花似乎沒有什麼作用，因為它們只存在一段很短的時間。它們會在路邊坐一個星期，然後就死去。 然而，我們會在生日、畢業典禮、婚禮和葬禮上送花。 

因為花是生命的象徵。一朵花唯一的責任就是活著。當花活著的時候，你一定知道它活著。它以最亮麗的顏色去綻放，可以點亮一間病房或一個餐桌。它盡力地活著。當生命結束時，花會以優雅的姿態死去。

Skeleton

When I die, I won’t take away my possessions, because I won’t be needing them in heaven, and I won’t have arms to carry them anyway. Instead I will leave behind a Joanne-shaped mound of dirt and bones. 

But more importantly, I hope I will leave behind some funny pictures, good times, interesting books, cool ideas and silly jokes. When I die, you can cry for a while (depending on how I die), but one day will be enough. After that I hope you will laugh, remembering the beautiful times we had.

當我死去時，我不會帶走我的財產，因為我在天堂不需要它們，而且我也再沒有手可以用來捧著它們。 我只會留下一個Joanne形狀的骨頭。

但更重要的是，我希望我能留下一些有意思的圖畫、美好的時光、有趣的書籍、獨特的想法和無聊的笑話。 當我死的時候，你可以哭一會兒（視乎我怎樣死去），但一天就足夠了。 之後我希望你會笑，記住我們曾經擁有的美好時光。

The day my grandma died
my head hurt like hell
But i know I’ll see her again one day
in heaven where all is well

When we meet again
I’ll give her a great big hug
She won’t recognise me
Because I’ll be ninety three

Here on earth
We mourn for our loss and pain
While in a parallel universe
Angels celebrate for their gain

婆婆死去的那一天
我的頭，痛到死
但我知道
我們會在天堂再見

當我們再次相遇
我會給她一個大大的擁抱
她不會認出我
因為那時我會是九十三歲

我們在地球上
哀悼我們的損失和痛苦 
但在平行宇宙中 
天使為他們的收穫而歡呼

Butterfly

I remember chasing small yellow butterflies as a kid. I trapped them, cupping them in my hands. I thought I could keep butterflies as pets. But when I opened my hands, they were all dead! 

Sometimes we buy things that last forever like plastic flowers and robotic dogs. They do as you say, they never age and they don’t frustrate you. They don’t make you sad because they can’t die. But also, they were never ever alive either.

Life is unexpected and free and fragile and that is part of what makes it beautiful. 

I buried the butterflies in the sandbox and sprinkled some flowers on top.

我記得小時候，我曾追逐黃色的蝴蝶，把牠們困住在雙手裡。我以為可以把蝴蝶當作寵物，但當我打開雙手時，牠們都死了！ 

有時我們會買一些可以永久保存的東西，好像塑膠花和機器狗。它們會照你說的去做，永遠不會變老，也不會讓你失望。你不會難過，因為它們不會死去，但同時它們也從來沒有活著。

生命是出乎意料、自由和脆弱的，也因此而顯得美麗動人。

最後我把蝴蝶埋在沙裡，在沙上撒了一些花。

Footsteps

When my grandma was alive, she didn’t give me much life advice. Mostly she told me to stop jiggling my legs and biting my nails. 

But she knitted us cool sweaters every year, and told us that she was praying for us every day. She stuck the fai chun’s I drew on her door for years. When my grandparents were young they took in people without families. They planted a church. Then some people cheated them, took all their money and while other grandparents were retiring, they had to start all over again.

The love they sowed is enough life advice for me. 

我婆婆在世的時候，沒有給我太多的人生建議。通常她只會告訴我不要再「un 腳」和咬指甲。 

但她每年都會給我們織毛衣，並告訴我們她每天都在為我們祈禱。她把我畫的揮春貼在她的門上很多年。 當我的祖父母年輕時，他們收留了一些沒有家庭的人。他們建立了一間教會，然後有些人欺騙了他們的錢，令到他們在退休年齡要重新開始。

他們播下的愛對我來說已經是足夠的人生建議了。

Long dino

My friend once said, we work like slaves every day - day in, day out, with no end in sight. Days like this are hard. But I think, maybe one day, without any foreshadowing or purpose or explanation, it will all be over. 

When I was young, I didn't think much about what I would do or what kind of life I would have in the future. When I think about it now, I just feel very grateful to have met many good and kind friends. I never planned for it or imagined it, but it is the most precious thing that ever happened in my life.

某一次，聽到朋友說每天勞勞碌碌，一直重覆，看不到儘頭。這樣的日子無疑是苦的，我似懂非懂的想，但也許有一日，沒有伏筆、沒有鋪排也沒有解釋，就完了。

小時候，我沒有想過將來要做什麼事或要有怎樣的人生，現在想想，只覺得很感恩能跟很多善良的朋友遇上，是我沒有計劃過、想像過，但成為我人生最難能可貴的事。

Heaven

I like the lyrics of a song called “As it is in heaven”

Some of it goes like this: And while I'm waiting, I'm not waiting. I know Heaven lives in me.

The lyrics sound a bit mysterious and conceptual, but I’m really drawn to this idea.

When we think of heaven, we often think of a perfect place, free from disease and pain. It’s a place we go to after death. But this song says that as long as we are with God, heaven is already here on earth, and exists inside of us.

I don't know what exactly to call a heaven that exists inside of us. But I think this is beyond my imagination, beyond words, and I want to learn more about it.

我很喜歡一首詩歌 “As it is in heaven” 其中一段歌詞是寫: And while I'm waiting, I'm not waiting, I know Heaven lives in me

當我等待的時候 我不是在等待 我知道天堂在我裡面。

聽起來很玄，很概念，但這個想法卻深深吸引著我。

想起天堂，我們經常聯想到是一個完美的地方、無病無痛、是死後的事，但其實這一首歌裡面說的，就是在這一刻，只要天父與我們同在，天堂就好像已經降臨，活在我們裡面。

我不知道怎樣命名那個 「天堂在我裡面」是什麼，但我想，這是超越了我的想像、超越了語言能解釋，讓我想了解更多。

Hug

Sometimes I feel that wasting time is the most indulgent thing in life, because life is so limited and short. Time is one of the most precious things in life. 

Just knowing that time is so precious, I want to spend more time thinking about God. I know that in the future, I can be with God forever, but while on earth I want to dedicate the most valuable things to Him - my heart and my time. I suddenly feel like this may be the most romantic thought I’ve ever had in my life.

有時候我覺得浪費時間是人生最奢侈的事，因為生命很有限、很短暫，時間是人生最寶貴的財產之一。

就是知道時間這樣珍貴，我更想用更多的時間想著天父，雖然我知道將來在永恆裡，可以永遠同神一齊，但我想將最珍貴的獻上，是我的心、我的時間。突然覺得，這也許是我人生裡最浪漫的諗頭。

Sing

I don’t know if rocks can actually sing but we’re always using the quote "the rocks will cry out". So in my mind, rocks can sing. I like trees a lot so I’m looking forward to dancing with them. The wind is always coming and going, and I want to see what they actually look like. And to me, stars are just giant rocks that reflect light.

Heaven is a place without tears and pain and it sounds so unreal. But sometimes I think, maybe the little bits of goodness and beauty that we experience on earth right now, can give us a glimpse of what the eternal kingdom of heaven is like.

其實我不知道石頭會不會唱歌，但我們總是引用「石頭都要開口讚美」，所以我在心裏設定石頭是可以唱歌的。我很喜歡樹，所以很期待可以和樹一起跳舞，風總是來去匆匆，我想看看他的樣子，而星星是很大粒的石頭。一個沒有眼淚也沒有疾病的地方，聽落好到不實在，但有時候我又會想，也許我們現存這個世界的一點點美好，是讓我們想像和窺探那個永恆的國度。

The End

I once watched a movie about the end of the world. There were no heroes in the movie, no one to save the world. It was just an ordinary middle-aged man who wanted a friend to spend his last days with. During the end of the world, people began to lose their values and indulge themselves. There was chaos and disorder. Just imagine what happens when people are no longer courteous to each other and all social norms collapse. The darkest side of humans comes out. Just thinking about it scares me.

But at the same time, I feel that some people will still be very reliable. Not that they have supernatural powers or that they can change the fate of the world, but even in the darkest times, their character and values remain steadfast. 

偶然看了一部講述世界末日的電影，故事裡沒有英雄、沒有人要拯救地球，只是說一個平凡中年男人，想找一個朋友一起過這最後的時光。同時故事也描繪很多人開始迷失自我、放縱、混亂、失序。想像當所有面具都失效，所有社會規範都崩壞，人性最醜惡的一面都暴露出來。想一想，也覺得可怕！

但同時我卻覺得有一些人，仍會是非常可靠，不是說他們有特異功能，能改變地球的命運或什麼，而是有些人的品格是堅定不移的，在最黑暗的日子，依然不會改變。

See you in Heaven

An acquaintance of mine was leaving Hong Kong with her husband to study abroad. Before she left, she said, “If destiny wants, we’ll meet again.”

I seriously wondered whether we would meet again. I didn't plan to travel to where she was going, and who knows what the future holds. So I said to her, "I guess we’ll meet again. If not on earth, then I'll see you in heaven." She texted me a lot of smiley faces.

I guess death is a kind of parting. Many times, it’s the kind of parting where no one has the chance to say or hear goodbye. That’s why death is so scary and creates so much regret. These days, there have been lots of partings and travel restrictions. No one knows what will happen in the future, but whatever happens, I always think that we will meet again in heaven one day.

之前有一位小長輩要跟隨她丈夫往外國讀書，我倆認識日子不算很長，她跟我說：「有緣再見」。

我很認真思考，其實有沒有機會再見呢…… 因為我沒有打算去那個地方旅行，而她也未知前路如何。我跟她說：「點都會再見既，最多天堂見」她回了我很多個笑臉。

也許死亡是另一種的離別，而且很多時候還未趕得及說出道別的話，對方已經沒有機會再聽到了。所以死亡是這麼可怕，讓人這麼遺憾。這段日子，很多離別，也有很多限制，沒有人能知道將來會發生什麼事，但我總在想我們終有一天能在天堂相見。

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