Remembrances & Ruminations

Emperor: ‘The Samurai is not a man now. He is an idea. Tell me how he died.’

Algren: ‘I will tell you how he lived.’

- THE LAST SAMURAI

Today was a day of sadness: Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios’ CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs passed away (1955-2011). The digital media mogul behind the infinite success of the iPod, iPad, iMac and iPhone and the book ‘The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs’ inspired netizens to watch his YouTube broadcast of his speech to graduates at Stanford University’s 114th Commencement. His first bout of cancer and his relative mortality, inspired him to draw from some of his most pivotal points in his life:

‘Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.’

The social media was abuzz with announcements, and then tributes poured in for the iconic entrepreneur and founder of Apple. People have been affected and influenced by Jobs; he left behind him a legacy that is larger than his life.

This week, I attended my business partner’s mother’s funeral. After we paid our last respects to her, we adjourned to the sitting area for conversation. We caught up with old friends and acquaintances, and met new ones. When you embrace death as a natural part of life, it becomes a significant stage of our lives, too. Birth, life, and death – the cycle spins for all within the Universe.

Why is it some concerned mourners ask the morbid question: ‘How did they die?’ What is this fascination for dying? I was never comfortable with the process of dying, however I am familiar and aligned with the grieving process associated with loss of a loved one: denial, anger, acceptance and commitment.

I will be writing a tribute for a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) Singapore Ring 115 - Pei Seh Leong. I solicited thoughts from his son, Jeremy and our members so as to paint a complete montage of a magician we lost – we call him a Broken Wand – for he will never again wave his magic wand (an allegorical symbol of a magical entertainer). It is my pleasure to help craft his obituary for I am honoured to speak well of him with others.

Remember our dead! Celebrate our living.

Credit: Winston Koh, for being acute curator of Steve Jobs’ speech.

Photo-credit of Mr Pei Seh Leong: Jeremy Pei.