Happy Halloween!
Halloween — A witching hour or a moment to remind us of the temporary nature of life? The All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day altogether jogs your memory on the need to make most of our time.
How does Halloween measure in your thoughts? Is it hallowed? Or hollow? How can we wean ourselves from the hollow way we use our lives?
I was driving along some of the inner streets of the city, where roads are congested with houses and benches that line the streets. People languidly sit, staring at each vehicle or person that passes by. But you can see in their eyes that they are not there. Their mind must be somewhere else or in something else. I really can’t tell. They look like live zombies, going through the motions of life. Present but absent. Their form is negligent as the others around them who are occupied with a flurry of activities pass by them not telling them apart from the stools they sit on.
In my own frenzy, I find myself envying them, as I battle with traffic and negotiate the narrow roads between clustered houses. I would have wanted to pause a while and maybe talk to one of them. But I note a half-full jar of tuba and the bleary eyes that stare back at me so I move on. Not wanting to get caught in a display of displeasure as I may be interrupting reverie.
The October breeze is gone. Except for a few puffs here and there. It has been replaced by a scorching heat and the ominous linger of a broad dark cloud. Rains fall these days as if the heavens want to cry. The sun beats us as if summer wants an early bout. November and December have fast approached time has become so short.
You get in the office at daylight and leave at dark. You do not even notice the passing of time. Time runs so quickly and if the signs of the times are indicators of an apocalypse then it somehow is reassuring to note that time will indeed just flow quickly or suffering may be one tortured laborious agony.
Why have I suddenly become morbid? I guess my thoughts have been dictated by the celebration of Halloween. Oh I do not want to be a spoilsport as people fancy the adornments of scary and utterly funny looking scarecrows and plastic pumpkins. I just wish that a vein of serious thought would also cross their mind as another, more happy and everlasting occasion approaches and that is Christmas. Hopefully, with the same dedication we give to decorating would also be the same meticulous care we will give to enjoying the gifts God has given us.
The gift of individual souls that have free will. The gift of choice. The gift of options. With these gifts come conscience, love, mercy and grace. Perhaps as we enjoy the Halloween with our families, we will also take time to talk with God, in a secluded spot of our hearts and be grateful for the gift of life and the more important gift of grace and salvation.
As we conduct our business today, may we also do so with the mission to make our souls relevant and reflective of the source of our being. Let us strive to be hallowed.
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