Let His Majesty’s torch guide us forward

The tears were real and the grief was genuine. What is left for the Kingdom to do is turn them into something more. His Majesty the King’s life-long wish to see his nation prosper in the proper, sustainable way and united in a non-harming, non-aggressive and non-violent way must be pursued. The monarch always carried this great hope for this land, and, on Thursday, he passed the torch to all of us.

Thais’ loyalty has always been unquestionable. Yet the time has come for all of us to take it a step further. The love, the feeling of immense loss and the collective numbness that seems to blur the immediate path ahead must become meaningful. For them to be meaningful, we only have to really look at what he advised us repeatedly over many years. He believed in our strengths and goodness, and so should we.

Tangibly and intangibly, His Majesty reigned over Thailand. He visited the remotest villages, bringing them much-needed help. He studied many subjects related to the poor so he could play a part in helping them find solutions. Artificial rain showered dry terrain. Anti-flood schemes were proposed when swollen waters threatened livelihoods. Agricultural projects were initiated to enable countless farmers stand strong and unassisted.

The rains, the roads and the farms are touchable, but his unifying power and dream are not quite so. It’s the latter that requires our greatest efforts to uphold them. He will be watching, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha suggested during his sombre national address Thursday evening, but there’s a subtle difference between doing it because the King will be watching and doing it because our hearts tell us it’s the right thing to do.

All of His Majesty’s efforts and wishes for Thailand came straight from his heart. There is no better way to repay his for this than to carry on his legacy, not as a dictated duty but as heartfelt actions. No one obliged His Majesty to lose sleep thinking about how to fight floods or make dry land green, so we probably should do the same. A great future demands sincerity, which was what the King had to give, and what grieving Thais, in truly honouring him, must express.

He preached perseverance and tolerance. It was hard to do for a man in his situation – living in a world where ideologies clashed and some citizens even challenged his institution. But the tears were real and the grief was genuine, and that can only mean that His Majesty walked the talk.

His was a life of sacrifices. His 70-year reign offered not even the slightest evidence of any fun-filled period. There was no luxurious “home entertainment” where he lived. He used pencils to draft his designs and make plans for the Thai people until they were worn down to stubs. Visiting a Starbucks or attending an Eagles concert were impossible for him. Thais were more familiar with pictures of him holding his camera and a map than any depicting life at the palace.

As one man in front of Siriraj Hospital on Thursday pointed out, none of us could ever do what he did. But the torch is with us now and, for what he did to be really and continuously meaningful, we shall use it to guide our way along the immediate path ahead. The way ahead might be full of sadness and obstacles, but the torch is bright enough, and we the current bearers certainly have the full confidence of the one who gave it to us.