For me, the best part of savoring the solace of a weekend is to curl up with a good read over a mug of milky tea and hearty toasts slandered thick with butter. Such simple joys in life can sometimes be missed when I allow the dictates of endless tasks to crowd my cluttered mind.
This weekend was especially good. I needed the quiet to calm my soul. I trained my mind to be silent. Soon, I was relishing in the morning stillness when a poignant read on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s candid interview on his life stirred within me a pool of deep emotion.
Truth be said, I was never a follower of his views until now. He has often presented himself as an extremely capable man with strong convictions – a visionary man with little time for the trivialities in life. Suddenly in this frank discourse, he showed a vulnerable part of him which made him real. For once, I felt that I could connect with him.
MM Lee Kuan Yew & Mdm Kwa Geok Choo during their courting days (picture: http://tiongbahruestate.blogspot.com/)
The singular theme came across loud and clear – his unwavering love for his wife of 61 years. His devotion and his covenantal love to stay with her “To love to hold, in sickness in health, for better for worse, till death do us apart” hit a heartfelt note with me. It is rare for a man of his stature and fame to be so forthright in his declaration of love for his beloved. No mushy love. No conditional love. No begrudging love. The clear ache in his voice is there. He is suffering alongside each time he hears her groaning in the dark of the night with discomfort and pain. He knows that he has to stay brave and keep strong in order to be that pillar of comfort and unwavering love to help sustain her wasted life.
For such a time like this… with increasing divorces and contractual marriages, Lee Kuan Yew has gifted us with a message of what true love is. No romantic sonnets. No shallow promises. No selfish demands. Just that simple promise that “I will be there to the end- to love and to hold” This is a page in life that I hope to imprint on feuding couples that I see in my course of work as a counsellor. It is also a timely reminder to do likewise in my marriage. Echoing the words of Robert Browning, “Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be.”
This in return is my love tribute to C – my soul mate and companion of 22 years.
Focus on your Family 