Friday, February 9, 2007

Chatterbox February '07

My February column....

TIME TO HIT PAUSE!

My aunt, Aurora / cousin, Trusha / late uncle, Dalpat (aka Dully)

The month of February is a celebration of love! So I’d like to wish all readers a very Happy Valentines Day for the 14th. I hope you spoil that someone special in your life with an abundance of love and affection, although I’m sure you do that all year round, right?!

I’m dedicating this month’s column to my uncle, Dalpat Makan (pictured) who passed away on Christmas Eve. He was on holiday in the Philippines with his wife and daughter. My family in South Africa was certainly not prepared for the dreaded phone call we received at three in the morning alerting us of the accident. The next call a few hours later told us that my uncle was in a critical state and was going to be taken off life support.

We are a very tight-knit family, and this is the first time that we have had to deal with such a tragedy.

My uncle’s death has inadvertently forced me to look at life in a different light. To evaluate one’s life is certainly not an easy task. To ask who oneself is can prove to be even more challenging. I have begun to realize that there are bigger things to be concerned about, and most of the things that we obsess about are often materialistic.

I feel like we are so caught up in trivial things throughout the day, that we forget to step out of our busy lives and think about the finer things in life. We all need to analyze ourselves as a person. Ask questions like, “Who am I?”, “What is my purpose in life and what contribution do I want to make to the world?”

I am just as guilty for being concerned about material things, but now that I’ve been thinking of it, it’s all so irrelevant. The way I see it is that we are all on earth for a limited period of time, and so we shouldn’t waste it on complaining about things we know can’t be changed.

I want to stop worrying about where I’ll be in the next ten years, and concentrate on the impact I’m making today…now. I also want to stop conjuring up the image of the perfect person, because I know very well that he doesn’t exist. As days pass by, I am beginning to realize that life is like a rollercoaster ride. Nothing is easy, and almost everything – especially relationships require time, dedication and commitment. These are life lessons that can only be learnt from experience, and I need to place more of my energy into understanding and realizing it.

As I mentioned before, my uncle’s untimely death has forced me to hit the Pause button on my life. I don’t want to occupy myself to the extent that I forget to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. Life has an unusual way of panning out, and I really don’t want to be worried about what should have or could have been. Rather, I want to enjoy life for what it’s offering me today – good health and a loving family!

Have a great month and see you in March!

10 comments:

Mosilager said...

I think progress is not possible without seeing that something is wrong and trying to fix it. too much materialism is not good, but not enough is bad also :)

Sheetal said...

mosilager
hi there, how are u doing? thanks for reading! ...nicely said :>

Mosilager said...

hey, I'm fine... what's all this see you in march business? there's still half of feb to get through.

Sheetal said...

mosilager
hey, well - this was just a copy & paste of what my column looked like in the mag. i like to 'talk' to my readers, so i usually say things like "see u next month"

hehehe

(did i make sense?)

Ranjit said...

ah ok... i thought you were threatening not to blog for the whole of feb!

Anonymous said...

Great insight. As you get older, you come to these same conclusions, with or without tragedy. Sorry you had to fast forward at this point in your life due to Dully's death. Another thing age does is add wisdom. You learn to live for the moment and enjoy each day which, I think, enriches your life.

Sheetal said...

ranjit
i figured that's what you thought :P lol naah, i couldn't do that ;)

Sheetal said...

penny
thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a lovely message for me. you know i always appreciate your words of wisdom :)

lots of love & big hugs x

Daddy's Girl said...

Beautifully said - this is so true. The big questions are difficult to ask and even more difficult to answer, but ultimately so much more relevant than a lot of things we concern ourselves with everyday.

Sheetal said...

daddy's girl
good to see ya 'round ;) hope you've been well. loved your comment - very true!