Lesson of the day: Life is Fragile

Went to Crystal Jade for dinner with my family just now and my brother and his girlfriend was telling us about the car accident they were involved in on Tuesday. This was what happened:

It was their friends' wedding. There were 5 cars. The first was the wedding car. After the wedding car went past, a large tanker cut out from a side road suddenly and so the 2nd car slammed on the brake. The 3rd car slammed harder on the brake and bang slightly into rear of the 2nd car. The 4th car (the one da sao was in) was totally taken by surprise and crash into the 3rd car. The entire fender crashed in and da sao's chin suffer a bruise as she hit into the seat of the driver. Luckily the 5th car's driver (the one my bro was in) was alert and managed to avert the accident. The front passenger in the 4th car suffered 2 deep cuts along her neck due to the seat belt. If not for the seat belt, she would possibly have flew out of the car. In fact, it was fortunate that no one was sitting in the middle back or the person would definitely have flew through the windscreen. Another girl in the 3rd car suffered from possible concussion and is currently under observation in the hospital.

This is of course nothing serious compared to those we often heard on the news. But when it happens to people close to you or even to you, even a minor one can send shock waves into your system (as can be seen by da sao's persistence in wearing a seat belt even when she was sitting in the back seat just now). My bro said, when he saw the 4th car crash into the 3rd, the fender disappearing within seconds, his mind went numb instantly.

How powerful and destructive a human err and carelessness can be!

Last night, Shawn told me that a guy from his company met an accident as well. He was riding a motorbike and a lorry rolled over his chest. His ribcage collapsed and his condition was critical. He went under the operation lights yesterday and I have no idea whether he made it. The saddest thing is he has a wife and a kid that's still very very young.

Indeed how fragile life is. Sometimes I take it for granted that I would not be hit by a car or die by some freak accident. Is that hubris in a way? Kinda like: "these suay things will never happen to me la!" But that is such a fallacy isn't it? Yet I find myself behaving in such a way all the time.

I think we should all really treasure our lives. How stupid it is if we get killed or seriously injured just because we were too impatient to wait. Must we wait until we get into an accident before we learn caution? What if we never get the chance to thereafter, that there is no after?

Please, friends, drive carefully. And avoid riding bikes if you can. Watch where you're going especially when you cross the road. Even if you don't care about yourself, think about the grief and pain you'll cause to those who truly care about you.