Was on my way home from my weekly marketing when I noticed a few boys playing under a tree. They appeared to be throwing stones at the trunk but upon closer look, I realised that they were actually stoning a fallen crow. Shouted at them to stop and they dispersed before I could question them. Went under the tree and found the bird lying there motionless. I have never like these noisy scavengers but somehow I felt sorry for the dead bird or at least for the way its life has ended.

Though these birds have been a constant nuisance in the neighbourhood and deserve to be killed, they too are living things just like you and me. If we don't go round killing people who are a nuisance to us, why should we do the same to these birds? I'm not against the 'massacre' of such creatures if their existence threaten our health or lives but to kill them for 'entertainment' is something that I find it hard to swallow. Then to witness such an act of cruelty by those boys, make me wonder what has become of our society? Perhaps they have been told that crows are pest and that they should be dealt with mercilessly. Perhaps they were just curious to find out how living things fought for their lives. Perhaps I was just over-reacting. Whatever the reason, my main concern is how much do the boys know about the value of life? Do they understand that taking the life of another living thing, even when it's only a bird, is not amusing? Will they grow up killing other form of living things like human?

It's not uncommon to read of pet owners who would dispose of their pets like trash when they had grown tired of them. To them, keeping pets is a kind of 'fun' and once the fun element is gone, the pets become a nuisance. In most cases these pets would be neglected and eventually abandoned while in extreme cases they were tortured to death. Imagine a little gal who had lost her interest in her hamster (she wanted a rabbit instead), being told by her daddy to throw it down the rubblish chute, what kind of value would the parent have instilled in his child? Will the child grow up to be one who treasure life? Or will she be somebody who would simply replace anything, including living things, that has lost it value or usefulness? It's a scary thought but it can definitely come true.

It's no wonder then that some of our youngsters placed very little value on the lives of animals, people whom they dislike and sometimes even on their own lives. They wouldn't hesitate to do stunts (like getting involve in gang fights and drugs taking) that would not only endanger their own lives but also that of others. They become heartless and fearless of the consequences. They just want to have fun regardless of the cost. Some paid dearly with their lives while others rediscover the value of life and return to lead a meaningful one.

Different people place different value on their own life. Some value wealth more than health; some value love more than money; some value life simply for what it brings. Does your life have a value? What is the value of your life?

'A useless life is an early death.'

'Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.'

'Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.'