By Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ
“Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” — 2 Corinthians 4:16
A friend was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago and recovered after a round of treatment. However, it didn’t last long as after only three years, it returned and this time it was very serious as the cancer had spread. The doctor was unable to say how certain he was about the result of surgery or the chances of recovery afterwards. Hearing this, he felt that he had hit the bottom of his life. He was very unhappy and upset. He had already been cured. And hadn’t he lived a careful life, exercised, abstained from eating cancerous food, and lived a disciplined life? Why did the cancer return and why had it already spread when it was discovered?
His spirit became very low and he spent his days complaining about life’s unfairness and feeling sorry for himself.
One day his good friend gave him a book written by a famous person of wisdom, a book that told him that our outlook on life does not need to be too pessimistic, a book that made him reflect on his own life. He realised that it was meaningless to work all day long, always catering to the demands of others for recognition; he had been living for others and forgotten to care about himself!
The book reminded him that his life had always seemed to be out of his control, and that it was up to him to decide whether he was living at ease with himself or not, and his life should not be defined by others. He decided not to live his life in the eyes of others. It did not matter what others thought of him, as long as he was at ease with living according to his own way, even in the face of death, he could accept it with openness.
As a result, his outlook on people and events around him changed from an always negative emotional state to a positive one. After letting go, all he could see were the good things and God’s grace. He learned to regain control of his life and would consider accepting the Christian faith withthe Lord who loves him.
It was a renewal of life, like saying goodbye to one’s old self, and living positively no matter how many days were left to live, precisely because that was the gift of life.
