Post-LKY mourning period

Last week was a grievous one. The whole nation, as well as many countries, were mourning over the passing of H.E. Mr Lee Kuan Yew. News about his funerals had been deluging the feeds, almost every Singaporeans were posting their tributes, media were replaying the speeches he delivered in the past.

This was the very first time, I have been reading intensively, actively, yearning to know more about someone, not an ordinary someone, but an excellency. I was trying to understand his virtues and merits through the tributes, transcripts of the eulogies, and interviews.

I attended his state funeral, watching the live telecast online. It was solemn yet emotional. This was the very first time, I sat patiently, giving my full attention to the speakers while they delivered their eulogies. The ceremony lasted for four hours. And I dare not miss out any moment. I knew too little about him, this was a great opportunity for me to glean.

I'm have learnt many lessons during the past week, I had mentioned some of my thoughts from the tribute I wrote last Friday. But still, I think the tribute is far too shallow, not concrete enough. This was what I thought after listening to his grandchildren's eulogies. His grandchildren are around my age.

Anyway, during the past seven days of mourning, I started seeing the beautiful souls that Singaporeans have. I think the beauty have been hidden somewhere deep inside, and his death apparently unleashed our beautiful souls. I realized that Singaporeans are not stoic at all, they are warm-hearted people, but they don't put them to show. It was not only the week of mourning, but the week of gratitude and respect. I see sympathy and humanity. It's really touching to see how respectful and thankful we are, how thirsty we are to learn from the father of the nation!

We all took a break in our buzzing lives, calming down to think about what he had given us. For this moment, we stopped complaining about the imperfections. At these days, we realized how fortunate we are. I hope also hope that we could emulate the wisdom, compassion and courage that the father of the nation had. He had left intangible legacy for us.

No matter where you are, I believe you are still keeping an eye on Singapore.