Jeepney Press YOMU Editorial

“YOMU”

by Dennis Sun

When I was young, I thought I would never get old. When I was a boy, I thought I would stay like that forever. Like Peter Pan! When I entered my 20’s and 30’s, it didn’t occur to me that old age was just waiting at the door. When I advanced to my 40’s, different health issues started to develop. And now in my 50’s, I already feel the pain and dread of aging.

As the sakura flowers start to blossom, I know I am going to add another year to my age. April is my birth month. Each one of those years I add, I am very proud of. Whenever I am happy, I try to embrace my highs. Whenever I am in the pit, I just try my best to let go of the lows. As I see the sakura blossoms, I tell myself to do my best to live in a way that I can look forward to see the next hanami season no matter how high the number I attach to my age.

A few people I know hate birthdays. I think it’s not really the birthday but the aging they hate. It scares them. Well, I get that. Because it scares me, too! Hey, I am over 50 already. I’ve lived more than half a century. And I’ve lived through more than 5 Philippine presidents.

The fact is, we all have birthdays! And that’s beautiful. Because if you don’t, you should not be alive.

Every birthday for me is a time to be more grateful for all the things in life…even for the things that you should not be grateful for. For anything bad that has happened to me, I try to look for something good to be found, no matter how small. This small shift can make the biggest difference. Cherishing my flaws. Loving the difficult people in my life. Just knowing how to appreciate all things good and bad has granted me a feeling of greater harmony.

Now, I can breathe deeply, add one year joyfully and have a blissful birthday! Happy birthday, everyone!

Dennis

MARCH - APRIL 201907

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