When I was taking my End of Life Doula certification in 2020, one of the assignments was to write my own obituary.  I am not sure about other cultures but this is definitely something morbid in Asia.

The intention and purpose of this assignment are to reflect on the legacy we want to leave behind and how we want others to remember us. The obituary acts as a life review, a motivation, an inspiration, and a guide for us to live the life we aspire.

I reflected on what I wrote in 2020 and edited. So here it is! Btw, I am not depressed or in any crisis haha, so don’t worry! If this is triggering, you can stop here..:)

                   Obituary of Angel Ng 

Angel works wholeheartedly towards her own authenticity. Her strength and dedication is inspiring. She is a rebel and does not follow the herd. She seeks to find her own truth.

Angel loves her parents very much, every soul comes to express love in their own ways and one of the ways she has chosen to express it is through filial piety. 

Angel is a sensitive soul and as such she is very attuned, empathic, passionate, observant, creative, intuitive and responsive. She loves people and has a child like nature. 

Her ability to self care and love herself is admirable. “After me, You come first.” was one of her motto to free herself from the beliefs of selfless-ness and selfishness. 

Generosity, gratefulness and gentleness are few of her strengths, and she makes sure she blesses herself  first with all these qualities.

Angel has a calling to be there for the dying and she has accompanied her families and friends in their last journey. She has a doula heart.

Angel is a rich soul. It is as if she lived many lives in one life. Her journey towards her self exploration, authenticity is medicine to many. She is a walking prayer and blesses people she meets day to day.

Angel sees the sacredness in ordinary human life. She is the hermit that brings light into the darkness and her presence is a blessing. 

Belonging was something that she seeks and finally she remembers herself home.

Angel last words to those who love her:

"Thank you for being part of my journey. I have lived well and do the very best I could. Remember my beautiful smile and child-like nature. See and remember me in my true nature. Remember your beautiful nature too. Till we meet again, please take care. I love you.”

@TeAroha Haunui

If you dare

I love plants and have many pots on my balcony. I love to observe how and when they blossom, wither and blossom again.

I learnt a lot from my plants and they also are one of my resources to “fill” myself up. I enjoy getting my hands “earthy” with repotting and trimming.

There are times I thought a pot of plant will not survive as all the leaves turn yellow and are falling. As I continue to care and give sufficient water, it survives and starts flowering again! They taught me: “We are much stronger than we thought.”

Some plants just cannot survive on my balcony, no matter how. They taught me:”We acknowledge and give permission for things and people to exist but also know that they are not meant to be in our life.”

I have a few pots of plants that are unable to flower. They are very healthy but just did not flower. The strange thing is when I shifted them to a new location, they started to flower and bloom. They taught me: “We need to be at the right place, be with the right people to bloom and blossom.”

I have 2 pots of plants that took 2 years to flower. They taught me: “There is divine timing for everything. We blossom at our own divine timing. There is no need for jealousy and envy.”

A flower will bloom with no concern of competing or fear of blossoming. They taught me: “We each will blossom in our unique way. There is no need to compete, nor should we be afraid to bloom.”

Lastly, flowers bloom, wither and blossom again. They taught me: “It is only natural to go through expansion, contraction and then expansion again.”

Have a great week ahead! Love and honour where you are at this moment.

Love

@TeAroha Haunui