George Babsa-Ay Jr.
- Death’s Hopeful Message - November 6, 2024
- Sir Francis - October 16, 2024
- The Aras - September 11, 2024
There’s nothing to like about death for the grief it brings. One death is one too many, said a Sage once. And no one, save the insufferable sociopath we’ve come to know, belies the saw.
Yet the testimonies until dawn made it clear, there is no other exit – regardless of our stoicism or dislike. So it is rather wise to grow up and be grown up about it. Unhinge the stoicism or face the dislike, in other words. For, now more than ever, we are swamped by death.
To the 86.24 million Pinoy active soc-med users, not a week passes by where The Moving Wall – the odds of which are maybe higher – draws the dead’s pic or a death notice. And the consequent condolences.
Sufficiently affected, we type ours. And, aware we did our part, a distraction, like NBA stats or the next scandal, sways us all. Often, we’re aware of it, but it’s a trick we’d rather oversee. While The Moving Wall informs us of deaths, it’s as if it insulates us from our own. Our buffer against the burial ground, rising with each scroll.
At some point, something inside us hardens. Or, shuts. On instinct. On our want to eat and play always a day more, without death-thoughts a-dangling on our heads, a-meddling on our doors. Perhaps this serves a real purpose. Or, is just plain untrue.
Anyway, the point is, after the condolences, we become so blissfully unaware of death’s nearness. Until someone close to us dies, and we are anew melted weak, the insufferable sociopath, strangely included. Tearful. Shaken by the loss and uncertainty of life. Shocked, often, at the unfairness of it all. And, in the torrent of tears, we are forced to stare at our own gaping hole. Or waiting urn.
The next time though, I won’t look away. Turn away. For, again, I’ve seen in both wakes, in our lives, our presence is all we can really give. And both friends had so much more to give.
Popo and Darwin will linger in the hearts of those they have touched. But while beats the heart, let us pause here for what Death constantly tells us. What it wants of us: a permanent seat at our table and the ref of our games. Because that way, perhaps, we get to eat right and play by the rules. And be as kind as Popo. As diligent as Darwin.
Another Sage once remarked on the odds of Death and Taxes, one we can’t afford to belie. Sure, we do get more than a 50-50 chance to survive – to evade sentence, to scroll for another day. But, on The Moving Wall, we don’t really get to post proof of A Life, or, The Life we must deserve, ignoring the certainty of both.