Letter to the Editor

As mentioned in a previous posting (Nov 20), there was a vehicular death on our roads here in Cayman on the 19th of November. For a few days people spoke about it in disbelief. After the initial shock settled, I began writing.

I have been deeply affected (like many others) by this tragedy....perhaps because I knew this mother, wife and friend or maybe because I'm all three of those too and I realize it could have been me just as well as anyone.

My thoughts took me to a place where I began writing what I think I've been feeling about the uglinesses of human nature but the potential of the same (no matter where we live) for a very long time.

I shared a few of these thoughts with close friends and my personal editor (thank you DAR) and was encouraged to voice them with the island's population. So I did.

But I waited and waited for it to be printed. Patience. Island Time. Sixty seconds equals sixty minutes. And finally today when I opened up the Cayman Compass, there it was. Although passing over the editor's desk, I was happy to see that it had virutally been unaltered so as not to lose the message. I suppose she (the editor) perhaps felt the same way I did?

Therefore, if you live on the island and have not yet read my thoughts, they are below. If you are a loved one who lives onshore, this is also for you. Although you are not here to witness the circumstance, the message remains the same.

Heed the message.......we as a human populace.....we are damaging everything we're trying so hard to build for our children! And I'm not even sure we're fully aware.

And then when you're finished reading my writings, look to the right and read the "Paradox of Our Time." The genius who wrote that crafty piece of work, simply gets IT!



Be Present, Attentive, Courteous

Cayman Compass - December 4, 2007

As decadent December approaches, it’s a time to look back on the voyage of the past year and smile.

Instead I’m finding myself counting traffic poles on the by-pass southbound in from the Camana Bay roundabout. I pass the ninth pole and a feeling of disbelief and frustration overwhelms me.
Where there was once a portion of the remains of a white CRV being utilized as a vase for floral respects, attached to this pole there now lies many tributes in honour of a remarkable woman.

I’m human, I reflect.

Life is a gift, it can be taken away, turned up side down and hung out to dry in the blink of an eye. I believe there is yet more consideration to be made than this; something deeper to be scoped.

The shock of this heartbreak has not matured as of yet as this loss of a most fruitful life is beyond tragic.

It is awesomely devastating.

Take a moment and think about the lost life that will never enjoy her golden years with her husband, nor watch her babies grow up and have babies of their own.

Now, think about the life of the one who may have sourced the calamity. Don’t lose sight of your compassion. Children have it and you too were given it when you were born.

We humans all falter.

This is a request to take a moment to reflect into each of our own lives - how fortunate we are to be alive. It is wise to be mindful of the opportunities presented whereby we may grow which remind us of a must to retire our need for ego and arrogance.

The proceedings in life are more by design than they are by default. That said, a purposeful life has been cut too short but a child helpless and innocent survives because her mother had enough common sense to know that it was necessary to harness her daughter to a proper car seat.

However, a broken family has returned home to Australia to meet the challenge of finding a ‘new normalcy’ and many friends and children have been left to grieve with but no choice but to move on.

For many of us, the restful, trouble free, uncomplicated markers that have drawn us to just this side of heaven from the outset, are certainly up for question at present.

Paradise gets interrupted frequently.

Interruptions are a part of living a dynamic life. But there comes a time when one must say, “Ahem! The answers do not become clearer by repeating the questions.”

It is greater than momentum and velocity behind the wheel of an automobile as I believe we may very well have it all backward.

We are more reactive and less proactive as a people, very often monotonous and senseless when we should be attentive and courteous. We’re in a ‘hurry’ to get who knows where (not to discredit that sometimes swiftness as a general concept is in fact necessary).

Why do we frequently have the perception that we are more significant than the person behind, in front or beside? Is it necessary that we move too slow, or too fast beyond what is reasonable? Shouldn’t the purpose of life really be about going fast enough to get somewhere but slow enough to appreciate everything along the way?

Balance should be key in everything we do. If we all walked, talked, thought, acted, reacted, and drove at the same ‘speed’ throughout life, where would that get us? Where would that leave us?
What is really vital here is that we, as a collective understand that in the grand orchestration of life, our task is simply to balance the extremes whether we are moving quickly or leisurely while paying attention and respecting our lives and the lives around us.

Although there have been vehicular outcomes resulting in tragedy in the past on this island, the message remains the same. We may be hearing but I am not sure that we are truly listening.

Of the few healthy obsessions in life, to be mindful instead of mindless is a beautiful fixation to hold. A new angle of perspective - stepping up to create, facilitate, and educate when the opportunity presents itself is absolutely necessary for forward momentum down the appropriate route. Mediocrity finds its home in reporting and exposing the findings. Excellence is doing something constructive with these findings for the betterment of all.

Specifically speaking, the next privilege presented to us whereby we reach for the wheel and tap the pedal, must unquestionably follow great consideration for the reality that we all have families and loved ones that we would like to get home to at the end of the day. As you make your way from A to Z and all the stops in between, pour yourself a cup of gratefulness before you leave, let your right foot take a ‘brake’, retire yourself to humbleness, smile, and allow three in ahead of you. And while you’re living in the present, take a drink from your mug of gratitude, for it may be your last.

Life…..Flavour it! Savour it! See it! Smell it! Hear it! Feel it! Laugh with it! Most importantly love and cherish it.

The next time the Caribbean light cascades into a dark room through an opening in your window, bask in the sunshine and smile.

When she was in the same breathing space, this extraordinary humanitarian (and sadly another statistic) who died on our roads Monday November 19th, made a person feel as though they were glittering in the brightness of the sun’s rays. There was quality to her, an energy that humbly said, “You matter to me. You are important.”

In her honor, whether you knew her or not, be the light and the mirror that reflects it; the mindful humanitarian that you were brought into this world to be!

If you have a child, please educate yourself in appreciating that you are not your child’s seat belt! Educate yourself enough to know that a proper car seat will indisputably save a life. Have respect and patience for yourself and the other human beings that drive, walk, run, bike and stroller along.

Widen your dash, find your inner calm. Be present, be kind, and be considerate. It’s as simple and as complicated as that!

You will begin see that your day-to-day experiences will be heightened. Ordinary moments will become quite extraordinary and you may even experience a few beautiful awakenings here and there.

Janis Bacac