Confronting with Fear

i haven’t been feeling uneasily.

Granny has been going in and out of the hospital. It’s old age, and I think the body is degrading.

I have been putting off going to see her.

Because of fear. I fear coming face to face with the subject, of death. I do not know how to handle it. Because of the past that I have had. It seemed like I still do not know how to reconcile with the death of my loved ones even if it were more than 10 years back.

But today, i plucked up what little courage I had, to visit ah ma, my dear granny who is little in size but so strong in character all her life.

She single handedly brought up 10 children. My grandfather left her early.

But ah ma is so strong despite her small built. She was the one who came to my family and nurtured us when my mom passed away in illness.

She slept next to me. She made me dinner and ate with me. She said to me when i was weak: “be strong, treat it as if it were nothing.”

i have always always remembered her words when i felt weak. there was so much power in those seemingly easy words.

but now, i realise so much flavour in those few words, simply because they were extracted out of her hard life, or the very hardships that never thwart her,

ah ma was diagnosed with colon cancer a few years back, but she decided not to go for an op and she ‘s had a few more years till now.

i thought what boldness and character.

she’s not afraid of life, she’s not afraid of death.

i rem asking myself yesterday as i felt all the old energy dwell in me, because i couldn’t bring myself to see ah ma.

i rem looking at the sky, and thinking of some words i read:”if you do not know death, you do not know life.”

vice versa.

i read it in a book, The Tibetan Book of Dying. or something to that effect. that was when I was expecting hao.

And how true.

Today i finally plucked up enough courage to see ah ma.

I told my jittery self: create a new pathway and a new angle to this. i educated myself, that the fear was something old, and something i do not need now.

i can create another approach to this.

i just tried and i think i found a little light. Ah ma is old and frail, her voice has changed, and i felt just hurt looking at her.

But ah ma is so strong willed.

she’s taking it and i felt just dishonest and low and small not confronting her and just saying niceties.

opposite me, my dad was asking all the questions I wanted to know- what did the doc say? when can you head home? etc

i thought:”is this appropriate at all?”

but its honest.

and anytime better than me trying to put on a nice front.

ah ma is so strong, she ordered dad to go home, and us to go home. she says we have been working and dad’s been driving for a day and its hard work.

she’s pestering us to go for dinner. and she gets her way.

ah ma is the strongest woman i know, and it hurts me to see her.

dad held her hand when he left, and somehow that moment caught me,

i felt like going over to hug her, but i didn’t.

i said my goodbyes, but thought if there was a next time.

ah ma is such a warrior. she’s a fighter, to the end.

i love you ah ma, and i wish you well.

Thank you for giving me a chance to confront my fear.