2009-04-06, 12:32 a.m.
Revival!

It has indeed been a while since I’ve been here to post anything. Haha. Again I wonder who really reads this. Having said that, I must admit I am someone who doesn’t really like to organize his thoughts into chunky paragraphs to be posted on a webpage. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely supportive of the idea of posting one’s thoughts, life story, even video on a webpage to let curious netizens or friends and family read or see it.

Anyway, this sudden inspiration to blog again after a 1 year + hiatus was compiled by the fact that I managed to catch a rather moving documentary on channel 5 this evening. The programme wasn’t one that was very exceptional as it touched on the lives of cancer patients, some of whom who have already passed away. You probably would have seen such a show at some point of your life. The show made me reflect upon the things in my life, especially since my mum once suffered from breast cancer just last year.

One thing is for sure – Life is seldom smooth-sailing. Many of the families and cancer patients interviewed spoke about how their lives were going on very fine and just when they were beginning to take everything they had for granted, cancer struck when they least expected. I could really relate this to myself especially since news of my mum’s condition reached me on one fine Saturday afternoon after I had booked out from a week of hectic parade rehearsals. News like that really strikes you when you least expect it. It leaves u bitter, and you start asking questions like, “Why me? Why us? ” The husband of a cancer patient who was featured presented a different perspective when he said he actually began asking himself “Why not us?” He shared that through discussions with his wife (a stomach cancer patient), they realized that although neither of them wanted things to be the way it was, cancer was part and parcel of life. Humans are all mortals after all and will succumb to death one day. It is both heartening and admirable to see them take things in their stride and in such a positive manner.

The programme then showed how some cancer patients felt that although they have been struck with this awful disease, the quality of their lives has changed dramatically, and in most cases for the better. It all begins with no longer taking thing around them for granted. They spend more time with their family, cherish every outing and meals that they are able to have. Others spend more time volunteering and helping fellow cancer patients or other less fortunate people. It is an irony that just when most people are faced with a fatal disease and the prospect of a shorter lifespan, that they begin to treasure their lives and live life to the fullest.

I thank God for the blessings he has bestowed upon my mum. An important moral of the story : Never take things for granted. :)

Something Beautiful