16 DECEMBER 2006

I am 47 today.

I looked at the mirror and saw someone whose youthful looks have receded far behind the prominent lines that resemble a cross between a crow’s feet and a spider’s web on his face.

I saw someone whose hair appears full, but have actually dramatically thinned fast enough to warrant anxiety attacks; whose grey hair of supposed accumulated wisdom have aesthetically disappeared, thanks to L’Oreal.

I saw someone whose eyes have become too ruggedly ravaged by wear and tear and too visually blurred to clearly define what is near and far; have seen far too much to distinguish what’s real and imagined; have mirrored a million and one joyful laughter and a million and two sorrowful tears.

I saw someone who has replaced shyness with confidence and outgrew inferiority to become bold and courageous; who knows what he wants and stops at nothing to get it; who acknowledges that he has needs but knows when and how to stop needing them; who recognizes where he is heading but is happy where he is and proud of what he has become.

I saw someone who has celebrated life as an intertwining of the opposites; who has soared above the seventh heaven and has plunged the depths of hell’s pit; who has wallowed in the mire of miseries and has risen phoenix-like above adversities.

I saw someone who was poor but only for a short while; who has known and understood poverty, up-close and personal enough, not to want it; who is not rich but is full.

I saw someone who is loved as much as he has loved, who has weathered innumerable onslaughts on the heart, whose body has once-upon-a-time thrived, if only fleetingly, on immedicable earthly passions despite heavenly avowals to the contrary.

I saw someone whose spirit is renewed, whose stride is full of conviction, who knows when to shout and to shut up, who is not full of himself but is proud of what fills him up.

I saw someone who is blessed with a few but precious friends that are extensions of himself and whose very presence in his life make every breathing tic-tac of the clock a joy and delight.

I saw someone who watches over his family, who holds them up high no matter how seemingly low they are, and who appreciates the reason for him being so.

I saw someone who is passionate about his work, who believes in the magic of dreaming and the power of believing, who values time and numbers his days, who makes each day count and every minute matter.

I saw someone, who, at 47, is happy, content, fulfilled, and is ready to face The End because he has, in his short life, lived.