Lion Air Tragedy

1 December 2004

Yesterday evening, Lion Air flight from Jakarta to Solo crashed during landing. I didn't know the details about the accident because I was on a trip to China. I heard that it was due to heavy rain that made landing difficult. Last night, it was reported that 31 people died and more than 60 people were injured.

When I heard about the crash, my first concern was whether there are people that I know were on that plane. Last night the fact was patchy but this morning unfortunately I heard that my friend's father was on that flight and he died. I felt so sorry for my friend. It is hard to lose someone that's close to you.

When I think about life and death, and see that life is so transient, I feel that we as human beings are really small, fragile and we are nothing but temporary travellers. We don't even know when the journey will end and how it will end. We can however decide how to live our lives. We can make sure that our journey is a great adventure and our lives are fulfilling, benefiting others, full of love and joy. We can leave a legacy that we make a difference, we touch and enrich people's lives, all in positive ways.

Lessons:
1. Live today as it is our last day. Use our time to do good, to be kind, and to love those who are close to us because we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Leave a beautiful memory to those we love. Don't wait until tomorrow, make a difference today.
2. Have faith in God.