I read the synopsis of a book published in 1999 – “100 Things To Do Before You Die”. It was co-authored by David Freeman, an American advertising executive. You have never seen any recommendation more warped than some of the stuffs you have in that book. At best, you would need to borrow the popular warning you hear so often from the organizers of WWA – “Don’t try this at home”. Many of them are rather too dangerous for the soul. While the book recommends many wild things that will supposedly create fun, there was not a mention of God at all.

I concluded that if there was ever any right thing someone should pursue before death, it is to make peace with the Maker.

Recently, I attended the traditional wedding of a nephew. To my left hand was a man who had lost some of his teeth to age. I saw how this man struggled to have a bite of the meat in his plate of food. He had little success. My mind immediately raced to Ecclesiastes where the wise man warned of the day when the grinders will be few. That man was an endorsement of the wisdom of  Solomon. When I put that side by side with living, a la David Freeman,  I concluded that if there was ever any right thing someone should pursue before death, it is to make peace with the Maker. And because we have no control on the time of death, that has to be priority of the hour. By the way, Dave Freeman died at the age of 47, and had only done half of the crazy stuffs  he had on his list.