Lucky we are in this Life
I had just recently returned from a Study Trip to Jakarta, the capitol of Indonesia. As Indonesia is now famous for its corruption and an unstable situation politically and in life itself, more so it is located at the "Ring of Fire", that can cause earthquakes, volcanos and tsunamis. In fact, the day before we departed for Jakarta, there was a shattering earthquake in Western Sumatra, so powerful, even it was felt by the residents in KL, JB & Singapore! Thankfully, Jakarta was not affected.
Reason I brought this up was the, I would say, "Fortunate" incident that occured in Jakarta. We were all happily having lunch and a discussion in the Jakarta office when suddenly a man’s voice over the loud speaker requested every one to evacuate the building at once, and not to panic…NOT TO PANIC?!?!?! how not to panic? The reason we were evacuating was because the Office building received a call saying that there was a BOMB in the building!!! We from the land of Malaysia had never experienced such an experience before in our entire lives! As everyone gathered at the parking lot behind the office building, we witnessed all the other tenants doing the same. 
At that very moment, though triggered by such an alarm, I was composed, as I led our Instructors, safely away from the arms of death…Almost everyone was on their mobiles, trying to call home to their loved ones. In fact, 2 of them were told by their husbands to go straight to the airport and take the next flight home! The situation was further wounded by the very hot sun, with absolute NO trees around for shed. As our schedule was disrupted, we adjourned to the front of the building and took taxis back to the hotel. We then returned to our rooms while waiting for the next instructions.
I finally arrived in my own room, 
exhausted and tired due to the inflicting heat. As I slumped onto the chair, my composed self as I was earlier began to disintegrate quickly as a throng of thoughts flew past my mind. A lot of "What if?" questions mainly.
What if the bomb did go off?
What if there were no notifications and the bomb just went off all of a sudden?
What if while exiting the building, it went off?
Death, Havoc, Commotions, People going mad, People going nuts etc!!!
Thank GOD it was a false alarm…
I would not have seen my family,
I would not have seen my girlfriend,
I could have been stuck there,
I could have never step foot on Mother Earth again…
Those thoughts of mine were then put onto paper as I composed my next poem. Those who know me know that I express myself best through poems. More so it became an experience I could never ever forget. Pity I also felt for our Indonesian counterparts as they have to live in situation like this every single day!!!
At any time, a terrorist attack would come, at any time, an Earthquake could arise, at any time, anything unfortunate could happen. The last fact is true anywhere, but the possibilities are higher there.
The most tearful moment for me, one that truly touched my heart too much that after one look, I quickly turned my head away, unable to bear that sight. It was night, and it was like almost pitch dark on the roads, with no street lamps. At the traffic lights, we saw a young child carrying a younger baby in his arms walking toward the cars, begging for money or food. Even worse was there was another young child, about 2 years old, sleeping on the divider! Such a dangerous place and yet they do so, as they have no other way out, nor do they have any other ways to survive…
All I want to say is I am now sincerely glad to stay in a country or home we all call Malaysia. Yes, there are poilitical fights, the roads are not safe, and our salary is not so good. BUT
we are still alive,
we can still make a living,
we do not have to beg to that extent,
our air is not that polluted,
our lives are better
we are safer, considerablly…
To be honest, I actually am now more motivated to help achieve my company’s ultimate vision, that is World Peace. A big one indeed but NOT impossible. I want everyone to be able to "Live a Life"…
