Gawai Dayak 2017

Gayu Guru Gerai Nyamai

It's 5.30pm on Wednesday I was at the KLIA terminal gate B11 waiting for the flight back to Kuching Sarawak. I thought my wife and I are the only lost soul who coming home at the eve of Gawai. However, it seems that many people are like us, coming back on the eve of Gawai. Gate B11 is in celebration moods. Every body seems wanting to be back home as soon as possible. 

For those who are just heard about Gawai before, Gawai is a harvest festival celebrated by Dayak people of Sarawak. This is a festival where people celebrate the harvest for the previous year and hoping for even better harvest the following year. Time had changed whereby most people now works in service area. But one thing remain, Gawai is for family to gather and have fun, asking how do you do, exchanging stories, jokes and having fun time together.

This year is special with new addition to the family. The young ones getting more energetic, the teenagers coping with their identity crisis, and the adults growing wrinkles and grey hair. 

As I am writing this blog, I heard the bell ring from the old church behind our house. There seem to be one of the kampung folk had died. 

That's is the cycle of life. The phase of young ones taking the place of the elders. The young must learn to take the responsibilities, and the elders must learn to let go. The elders with all the experience may give advise and sharing of experience, but it is the young who must do the hard work. I believe that progress means the current generation is better than the previous generation. It is important that we take a step forward intellectually and emotionally, not forgetting the humanity in us. 

We are proud with skyscrapers, and massive developments and subconsciously we became materialistic. We are losing our humanity. We live but not alive. We forgot to see the beauty of this world. Some city dwellers will go to high places around KL to watch panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur..to see the artificial lights that light up the building..lights that powered by fossil fuel such as the coal or gas. If only they look little higher and see the stars up in the sky. That's the eschewed notion of beauty of our current generation, we love artificial beauty.

We loves our social media without knowing what the meaning of social is. It is a new normal for two person sitting next to each other but both browsing the 'social media' through their smart phone. 

Maybe it is not too late to seek out the humanity in us.

Life is not about gadget..sometimes it takes a home made water gun to have fun.

Live free running wild.