True story. Time is World War II. Place is the middle of the Pacific. Three men hung on to a life raft after their bomber crashed. They had a pack of chocolate and a bottle of water. Every man was rationed one square of chocolate and a mouthful of water in the morning and at night. To their absolute horror they woke up on day 2 to find the entire chocolate pack gone.

One of them ate it at night and thus put everyone’s survival in jeopardy. The three men had to catch sea birds and small fish to survive. They had to fight off sharks and enemy planes. Eventually one of them died. It was the chocolate thief. Eating all the ration should have given him more calories so how come he died first?

I was snorkelling in the middle of The Bahamas. I followed a school of fish. When I looked up the catamaran was the size of my thumbnail. The waves picked up. All of a sudden my face hurts like hell. I was stung by a jellyfish!

With the help of Toby I finally made it back to the boat. On deck I was completely shaken up. I refused to go into the water again. Beside me was a little girl who was also deathly afraid of the ocean. As time went by, curiosity got the best of her so she grabbed my hand and headed toward the coral reef. With no choice I was forced into the waves that terrorized me moments earlier. There in the midst of large schools of zebra fish, with a stranger’s child relying on me, I found my own courage. I swam like a dolphin. Freedom encircled me like a baby blanket.

Why did the man die after eating chocolate? Because the chocolate ate him from the inside. His sense of guilt and remorse consumed him. Why did the little girl give me courage? Because her blind faith was contagious. Why are you reading this post? Because the universe wants you to RISE and succeed. A meaningful life cannot be lived in isolation. The year 2020 is the year we Arise Together.

Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter? We will ask ourselves in the end. Let’s start answering in 2020. Consider this blog your official invitation.

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With love

ZENWANG.NET 2019

Published by ZEN WANG

Nuclear Project Engineer turned Filmmaker. View all posts by ZEN WANG