28 years ago, I was born. Yes, I’m officially 28 years of age on the 18th Apr. Somehow I just don’t feel enthusiastic about it. Prolly foremost that I don’t celebrate my birthday since young – it hasn’t been a family tradition to celebrate birthday, not if you come from a poor family. The only celebration that I ever had was just to get a cake with Limin, and just cut it and eat it. I am not a big fan of birthday celebration really. I’m afraid of dying… soon I will hit 30, and soon 40 then 50... And then 60 will be followed by 70s and then the next thing I know, I’ll be inside a coffin. Of course, if I’m really inside a coffin, I wouldn’t know and that I wouldn’t allow myself to be in a coffin either. I would rather either donate my body to science, or just cremate my body and pour my ashes somewhere into the wind or ocean, than to take up valuable land space in Singapore and just subject myself to rotting under ground. And I would hate to have all those funeral procession going on for mine as well. In life I hate it when there are funeral procession going on as I find it disturbingly noisy, old fashion, and all the burning of jock sticks and ‘hell papers’ are polluting the air. So, I ask no more than to just cremate me without all these nonsense, since it is impossible to send my lifeless body then up to space isn’t it?
Oh well unknowingly, I’m talking about my death instead of life when I touch on the topic of my birthday. Seriously and truthfully, that is how I see it. We are all alive, so that we may one day die. That is life.
Anyway, it is also one of those days that I would rather spend the day alone, not celebrating it at all, as I see no point in celebrating me getting closer to my impending doom. So, I decided to spend the day doing something which I had in my mind a long time since, and have yet had a chance to do it – feeding the birds e.g. ducks, swans, geese in the Centannial Park. I hope that my gesture will be of a help to these little creatures, to allow them to survive one more day with the food that they had from me – not to say that they are dying of starvation. Just that, I would take my mind off myself to be able to see them feeding away, not having to wonder where to get more food to feed themselves or their family next especially in these cold harsh autumn weather. Speaking of which, some of the birds that I saw and fed had young chicks with them. And what I saw next actually quite stunned me, as I saw the adult bird gave the bread that I fed them with, to feed their chicks. It suddenly don onto me that these creatures are so human-like.
I also met up with a few geese, a white and two grey geese. From what I can tell, it seems that these three geese were the only goose in the park. Anyway, there were quite big, standing somewhere as tall as till my mid-thigh. They seem so gentle. And if you agree with me, then you are wrong! Or at least partially wrong. The grey geese were quite docile, waiting patiently for their share of the bread. But the white goose would be nudging away at my pants with its beak when I was feeding the other two – demanding that I fed it instead. What audacity from a goose! Oh well, I guess it’s the dominant goose of the three?
Overall, I had quite an enjoyable experience in the park, engrossing myself with nature and being able to help these little creatures out, even though that they might not need mine to begin with. One thing for sure – I would love to pay them a visit again.
