My first Monday Motivation
Cancer has affected us all whether that be through our own experiences, our friends or our family. For me, it started with him. He was my Ojiichan. He, was a fighter. A World War II veteran, the father of six children, the husband of one devoted wife and a baker. Ojiichan passed away in 2007 after battling stomach and lung cancer. But that's not how I remember him. I remember him as the man who played old army hymns on his harmonica, the man who always had a werther's original on him and for the fighter that he was. Ojiichan. Yes, that's Japanese for grandfather...but, surprise, I am not of Japanese descent. History lesson 101: Taiwan was under Japanese occupation (1895-1945) and during that time, my grandfather did what he had to do. He learned Japanese and he learned how to make red bean buns from a Japanese baker because he needed to feed his family. Because as a fighter you do what you have to do to survive. To keep yourself alive, to keep your family alive. I was fortunate enough to have lived with him growing up. He didn't say much to me but that could have also been the language barrier. Ojiichan would speak to me in Taiwanese and I would respond to him in mandarin and that's how we communicated. Though to be honest, most of our communication was me listening to him reminisce on him fighting during the war...except his stories were purely just stories. Ojiichan lived with Alzheimer's for the last 10 years of his life and his reality and the shows he watched on tv slowly became one. He couldn't remember things anymore let alone people. But he knew us. My family was one of the few things he could remember. I purposely said he lived with Alzheimer's and not suffered because I'm not too sure if he was suffering. His days passed, he played his harmonica and although he said the same thing to us over and over again at dinner-his smile, that grin of his watching my brother gobble up his dinner. It was bliss. The Dalai Lama had something to the extent that, "some suffering, maybe even intense suffering, is a necessary ingredient for life, certainly for developing compassion." I can't speak for Ojiichan, but I do know that watching him battle Alzheimer's, stomach and lung cancer has made me a more compassionate person. So, Ojiichan, I am fighting in your honor. I am fighting for you because you fought for your country, your family and for yourself. There's no greater honor than that. In Buddhism, your soul is reborn into the world again and I know that come Oct 5, you will be somewhere in the world spreading compassion to others. Just know that I am fighting for you and what you have taught me.
