A minute of your time, please

About a year ago (March 24th), I started blogging. I have to say it has been an exciting ride for me. Along the way, I met many wonderful people. Suddenly I don't feel alone being away from my beloved Malaysia because I meet Malaysians every day of the week through cyberspace. I have even exchanged phone numbers with them so that we can be in touch in more ways than one. I am thankful for that.

(cartoon courtesy of www.enasha.com)

“If you make friends with yourself you will never be alone.” said Maxwell Maltz (US plastic surgeon, motivational author, and creator of the Psycho-Cybernetics, 1927-2003).

Yes, that helps but I think what John Donne (1572-1631) said seems more realistic, if you like, that "No man is an island"

Now, we are complicated creatures ruled by emotions. Some days we can handle it on our own, and other days we need a friend's shoulder. Most people are lucky to have a friend nearby to unleash their inner most thoughts over a cup of coffee. It becomes challenging when one has moved around a lot - like me. So I resort to catching someone online and if that fails, I use the phone. Maybe it was just not my day, sometime last week, or the people I tried to connect with online were busy and did not respond to my saying "hello". One of them said "what's up?". I don't know about you but that sounded like a busy response. :) I did not want to impose.

Mind you, it was past 10pm over here - I certainly wouldn't want to call anyone in the States and wake up a sleeping household. (And even if I had a friend locally, I can count a coffee session out at that hour). I could have emailed someone (and I did before ... when it was an issue I can wait on) but sometimes, I am sure you will agree with me, we need to talk to someone in real time and get immediate feedback. The only person whom I knew was awake and possibly free was my best friend in Malaysia. So, I called her and thankfully she was free and patiently listened to me.

(pic courtesy of
www.freewebs.com)

Now I am not being dramatic about my situation (that's settled) but it brings to mind how we sometimes get caught up with our own lives and do not realise that some minutes of our time can make a huge difference to another in need. (I am guilty of it, at times). I could not help but think about an incident that someone regrets - not being there for her friend in his last hours. This lady was going about her evening routine - the usual kitchen work after dinner and then to relax in front of the TV with her favourite shows. Her phone rang at 8:00pm. Her friend, of many years, asked her if she had time to speak to him. She said that she was busy and told him that she will call him back another day. Next morning, she received news that he died of a heart attack at 11:00pm. When she shared this news with us she also added, in tears, that she regretted not giving him a few minutes of her time. She admitted that she took his friendship for granted. Now, she will never know what he wanted to share in his last hours.

Anyway, I was looking back on what I used to write early last year and found this poem, which I would like to share again:

Someday I will soar to the heavens
Above the clouds with song in my heart
Someday I will ascend to the blues
Leaving all cares, I will depart
Until then I'll remain on this earth
Journeying the road of life with sight
Until then I will walk with faith
That my path is the runaway for my flight

(pic courtesy of www.landscapedvd.com)

Someday I will set sail to the seas
To the far and open waters of this earth
Someday I will be one with the breeze
Giving me peace and my soul rebirth
Until then the shores of life I'll stroll
Leaving the prints of my life's expedition
Until then I will give my all
before I sail away to fulfil my aspiration

- Jacqueline Tegjeu

(pic coutesy of www.atlastours.net)