Hurry not, for time may not exist thereafter.

When I was in my early twenties, I used to join a group of wonderful people for picnics on one of those beaches in Penang. Sometimes, one of the friends’ parents would book a house or a chalet for us to stay. At other times we just stayed on the beach.

In December 1968, we camped on the beach for three days and two nights. Parents would join us in the late evenings when we would build a fire near three of the tents we put up to keep our things as well as places for the girls to sleep. As for the boys, some slept while a few would keep guard as well as sang songs throughout the night, sleeping only a few hours in the morning when the others would be awake.
Sometimes, there was the need to go to Batu Feringgi to buy food and drinks or whatever supplies necessary to prepare the day’s lunch or dinner. It was interesting and we had the opportunity to look after ourselves and indirectly learn to be independent. We had the opportunity to handle responsibility and be disciplined, giving each and everyone a task to ensure the place was kept clean and preparation for meals were carried out through individual effort without supervision from parents.

One day, I was requested to go Batu Feringgi by motorcycle with Lean Ee to buy some supplies as well as drinks. On our back, dark clouds stretched for kilometers above us. Then as we neared a bend with the hill-side on our right and the cliff on our left, there was lightning and thunder followed by a drizzle. I had hoped to escape being drenched. As the rain drops pelted my face painfully, I accelerated the bike, hoping to reach our camp as soon as possible. In my haste, I did not realized that there was sand on the road at the bend. As my bike went into the bend, it skidded and the next thing we knew was the two of us, Lean Ee and I, on the sandy road. Fortunately, no other vehicle was behind us. We picked ourselves up and rode the bike more cautiously back to the camp. We were lucky to have escaped with bruises on our arms.

However, with the cliff so near and the bend so sharp, anything tragic could have happened. I thanked God for his mercy and compassion. At times like this, from my mistake, I learnt to hurry not, for time may not exist any longer thereafter.

Of course, like any fallible mortal human, mistakes through haste has been committed by me a number of times. I understand that I have my own weaknesses just as I know my strengths. It’s only through the grace of God that I am alive today.