onthesannyside: The Suitcase (a dialogue with God), and some journalistic stuff...

At such times, one tends to get reflective and to ask about the purpose and meaning of our short life on earth. This imagined dialogue that CC sent falls into place:

The Suitcase

A man died, and when he realized it, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase.

- God said: All right, son, it's time to go.
- Surprised, the man responded: Now? So soon? I had a lot of plans...
- God: I'm sorry, but it's time to go.

- What do you have in that suitcase? the man asked.
- God: Your belongings.

- My belongings? You mean my things, my clothes, my money?
- God: Those things were not yours. They belonged to the world.

- Is it my memories? the man asked.
- God: those too never belonged to you; they belonged to Time

- Is it my talents?
- God: those were never yours; they belonged to the circumstances.

- Is it my friends and family?
- God: I'm sorry, they were never yours. They belonged to the path.

- Is it my wife and children?
- God: They were never yours; they belonged to your heart.

- Is it my body?
- God: that was never yours; it belonged to the dust.
- Is it my soul?
- God: No, that is mine.

Full of fear, the man took the suitcase from God and opened it -- to
find out that the suitcase was empty.

- With a tear coming down his cheek, the man said: I never had anything???
- God: that is correct. Every moment you lived was only yours. Life is
just a moment; a moment that belongs to you.

For this reason, live purposefully and with joy this time that is yours while you have it. Don't let anything that you think you own stop you from doing so.
- Live Now - Live your life - don't forget to be happy.
- Material things and everything else that you fought for, you leave behind.
- YOU CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING WITH YOU!

__________________________________________

The big story: An apology

I think the big story today (April 16), as far as Singapore is concerned, is the apology given by Indonesia's Armed Forces' Chief over the controversial naming of a frigate:

Straits Times

TODAY

Bearing in mind that this is election season in a somewhat restive Indonesia, the general is eschewing going along with populist sentiments and declaring that the TNI (the armed forces) remains a long-sighted institution that places domestic and regional stability above all else. Let's hope that the rest of the TNI senior officer corp is like-minded.

Incidentally, to resume my journalistic recollections, ST has always eschewed the headline shorthand "Indon", along with some other prohibitions such as "Pak" or "Paki" in stories relating to Pakistan. TODAY does not seem to have this self-imposed ruling with regard to "Indon".

_______________________________

China: We are not pleased

The letter in ST's Forum (April 16) that caught my eye was this one:

I think here too one has to try and read more into what the news-maker is signalling. Ms Cao, I feel, is putting regional commentators including academics on notice -- that Beijing is taking note of what they are saying about issues for which it regards its version as "historically correct". Apart from the issue above, I would imagine that the Taiwan (One China vs Two Chinas) issue will brook no "agree to disagree" position either, even if it were an academic doing so in whatever forum.

________________________________________

Same story: But nice ST headline, nice TODAY intro

Now, if only it was a single story with the ST headline and the TODAY intro!

_________________________________________

For anyone still figuring out how serious the situation is in Ukraine (see my blog entry on Monday), this ST (April 15) map graphic serves as a "picture that says a thousand words":