A Reminder To Live by The Living Wall
What would I do if I had one more day to live?
When this question pops up, I honestly can’t think of just one answer. There are many things that I still want to do and achieve in my life, but today I’ll just stick to one answer and say that I would write my heart out to leave my mark. However, being a young adult that I am, it means that I can procrastinate because I still have a lot of time.
Being a young adult has always meant a lot of different things. It means that we still have a lot of potentials, chances, and opportunities ahead of us. Sometimes it means that we have too many time and too many energy in our hands. Sometimes it means that we can try and do all sorts of different things in this world. However, at times we often forget that it is such a privilege for us to have such chances in the first place.
Rachel House, the NGO that is specialized in palliative care in Indonesia, was introduced to me during a class. At first, I thought it was a regular NGO where I can just come and volunteer. In truth, I was a bit intimidated as they specialized in palliative care and I, on the other hand, knows nothing about the topic, but several students including me decided to volunteer despite the odds. Fortunately, they accepted our offer and give us options: To volunteer or to host The Living Wall event on your campus.
With our head tilted to the side and excitement bubbling in our chest, we asked the obvious question, “What’s The Living Wall?”
They proceeded by showing us a picture of a huge blackboard with a simple question: “If you had one more day to live, what would you do?” The interesting question leads us to finally hosting the event in Binus International FX Campus, and I’m grateful that we did. Through this event, I’ve learned and thought a lot about the inevitability of death, the fact that there are still a lot of marginalized children who are suffering from life-limiting illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS and cancer, and the importance of palliative care. These kids might not have the privilege of being healthy and they might not be able to be healthy again, but I think it should be their right to live without the pain and suffering. That is where Rachel House takes up an important role to relieve them of their pain by giving them palliative care, and The Living Wall was there to shed the light on the issue.
On a much more personal level, I also see The Living Wall as a wake-up call for the living, as a board of reminder where students can come see the exhibition to write their own dreams and wishes. It reminds us of the importance of being grateful for what we have, and of what’s important in life. It reminds us that there are a lot of other young children who are not as privileged as us to be as healthy, or to live insufficiency, or to have all the chances that we have — to learn, to grow, and to be able to do great things in this world.
So if you only had one more day, what would you do?
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