If there is one day left to live

1. I often wander around the streets taking my children to and from school. Sometimes it is to martial arts class, swimming class, literacy class... Sometimes I am tired of the roundabouts but my child still has not reached the expected goals, I carry a heavy feeling of depression all the way home. My child cannot understand me to share.

One time, while I was in that mood, I saw two large displacement motorbikes racing each other on the street, honking loudly. The distance between my motorbike and the large displacement motorbike that had just passed by was probably only a few millimeters. And of course, I felt my heart skip a beat when I thought that life and death were only a few seconds, a few millimeters apart. When those two large displacement motorbikes had gone very far, I calmed down and thought, if I were unlucky and died in such a chaotic state of mind, would I be able to escape? I could peacefully close my eyes and step into another world (if that world really existed or not?). And I suddenly remembered the small, pretty flower field in Vinh Street in the past, every afternoon I used to walk with my best friend. The flower field was located in the ancient citadel area, originally built up from the land of the citadel. There were strawberry bushes, raspberry bushes, and rows of chrysanthemums, carnations, and forget-me-nots that welcomed the sun and the wind. If in any sad situation, even as cruel as the brink of life and death, thinking of the flower fields of my childhood, I believe I will feel much, much lighter.

And there are many other beautiful things outside that flower field. Like every afternoon, after passing through dozens of kilometers of traffic jams, dust, and high tides, my little daughter still picks me up, she quickly kisses the glass door, before my mother can open it. Not caring whether that kiss can reach my mother or not, just seeing my mother smile makes her face full of happiness. Like just turning on a soft, pleasant song, coaxing her son to massage her back, massage her shoulders, she will smile with her eyes closed making... This life is not without worries, but true happiness is always there, when the heart knows how to turn towards it. If there is only one day left to live, it is not difficult to choose love to fill the day.

1. My friend told me that once he went backpacking up the mountain and met a fatal accident. There was still incense smoke rising as he passed by, and several people were taking care of the funeral for the deceased. For some reason, the accident made him feel anxious even though he had traveled a long distance, wanting to call his mother. Every time he was anxious, he still talked to his mother. His phone had a problem and wouldn't turn on. All around were mountains and abysses, not a soul in sight. Every now and then a container truck passed by. If you had an accident on the road (many backpackers have), the thing you would regret the most would be arguing with your mother before the trip. The two of you hadn't even had time to make up.

You and your mother are at odds. You rarely get to talk to each other for long. Sometimes at the beginning of a meal you are happy, but in the middle of the meal you hear the mother and daughter talking harshly and softly, and at the end of the meal you go into your own room and close the door. Your mother does not find happiness in marriage. She tries to pull her daughter towards her, constantly whispering into her ear: “Your father is like this, like that”. Sometimes you love your mother, and sometimes you are annoyed. When you are most annoyed, you say: Dad is like this because of your mother, no one can stand it because she nags too much….

Exactly yesterday, you said. Then walked away, leaving your mother's eyes watering.

When you face death, you think, oh my god, how terrible I have been, what have I done to my mother's teary eyes.

Your mother stopped calling you a rebellious daughter after that trip. You spent more time eating with your mother. You took the initiative to invite her to watch movies and listen to music. And you said that the happiest thing in life is having your mother to repay your kindness. If you only had one day left to live, you would spend that day with your mother.

2. My friend was on a flight that had an accident due to a storm. The plane had to circle and shake in the sky for an hour, struggling to land at the airport in Thailand, waiting for the storm to pass before returning to Saigon. Someone sitting near my friend said that if they couldn’t land within the next 5 minutes, the plane would definitely have a serious accident because… it ran out of fuel.

On the plane, you hear prayers and sighs.

My friend is not religious. At that time, he just prayed to God to let him go home, see his children one last time and then leave, even though the two children were definitely asleep at that time, and maybe in their sleep they were still mumbling and calling for their mother like many other nights.

At that moment, you think about your year-long breakup that still hasn't ended.
After that flight, my friend agreed to break up, to take care of the children (her ex-husband also wished for the same thing), the most active single mother on Earth that I know. She went to baking and cooking school, and in her spare time from working at the newspaper, she made cakes, sweets, and delicious dishes to sell online. She did many jobs so that she would not have time for negative thoughts and nonsense, and had the money to take her children to places that both mother and child loved. Her children had places that they visited five or seven times. It didn’t matter, the important thing was that those places were where both mother and child found happiness.

If I Had One Day to Live… is a song that I love so much, I've listened to it over and over again hundreds of times.

“If I had only one day left to live. Take me home.

Let me visit my old village and roots. Let me dream, dream of my parents' language.

If I had only one day left to live. Give me a prayer.

The person I love has warm, smiling lips. For my children, a peaceful life...

If we only have one day left to live. How can we repay life?

How can we repay so many people? Who lifted us up, through the ups and downs of life.

If I only have one day left to live. How can I atone for all my mistakes?

How can I calm my mind? Let my arms go down in the dawn...”

And there are so many other good and meaningful things in this life that you may never realize in your most peaceful moments: Just being alive is the most priceless and miraculous thing. You will realize that when there is a time, when you have the experience of facing death, even though no one can predict when you will have “a day left to live”, or even a few minutes to live.

If there is one more day to live. Live – with the most positive thinking. I still think that, when thinking about that, is when we do not have to be afraid of facing the greatest loss in this life. Nor, when we think about the regrets that we have not done yet. Because after all, everyone must go to the end of the road, which is death. And when that is when we love this life so much.