Not So Different After All

Age does not make you wiser, rather experiences do. Having gone through certain experiences a person is able to see the world from a different perspective or angle. Experiences can also either leave you weak and hopeless or make you stronger and more grateful for what you have. It doesn’t matter what the experience is or what the magnitude of it is, but rather just the fact that you have gone through it. Going through something that may have caused you pain does not make it an automatic right for you to give up on life. There is a quote that states, “If you’re awake you’re blessed. Life is a priceless gift, appreciate every minute of it.” This quote basically states that no matter what happens to you, if you are still alive by the end of it then you have something to be grateful for.

Tony Christiansen

Source: The Star

Tony Christiansen, aged 52 years old, lost his legs, (amputation) due to a railway accident when he was 9 years old. When Tony lost his legs, instead of blaming the accident and going into a depression over not being able to do certain things in his life anymore, he overcame the sadness and decided to complete feats that many ‘normal’ people are either unable or are scared to do. He carried on his life as if he had merely fallen down and had decided to get up and dust himself off. He married, has children and travels all over the world performing many great feats such as climbing Kilimanjaro, flying an aircraft and learning Taekwondo.

Teresa Hsu

Source: The Star

Teresa Hsu Chih, aged 112 years old in 2010,  lost many loved ones during her life. Living up to such an old age, Teresa had to see many people she loved and befriended pass before her. She lost three siblings all in one year, and lost her mother as well, aged 104. One might think, ‘how awful it must be to lose so many people’, but Teresa simply answered with this “Grieve if you must, because parting is hell. But life goes on, so smile as well.” Teresa was very much a positive person, and was heavily involved in serving the destitute, sick and elderly. Growing up, Teresa was extremely poor, so much so that she would have no food and had to eat grass just to try and sate the hunger pains. On this matter she stated, “I decided that if it was within my power then I would see to it that no one shall have to eat grass.” Teresa passed away in 2011 at the age of 113.

Jenny Pong

Jenny Pong, aged 49 years old, lost the ability to feel in the lower half of her body in her twenties, went into a 2 year coma and had both legs amputated shortly after. Before she lost the sensation within her legs, Jenny was happily married to her sweetheart and was expecting twins. She later lost the twins and the sensations in her leg a few days later. During her 2 year coma, her husband left her and disappeared. When Jenny’s legs were amputated she decide not to go into a depression about how unfair life was or how cruel it was, instead she carried on with her life. She pulled herself around the house using her hands and arms along the floor. A trolley was later built, thanks to her younger brother, that she could lie belly down on and push herself along using her hands. She looks at life more positively now then she did before and is a very happy and contented woman. All those who have met her have commented on the fact that she is the most caring, awe-inspiring and heart-warming person they have ever met. She has the outlook on life that most of us take for granted, that we complain on such trivial matters, and is someone who has lost far more than us yet is happier than us.

All these three people have one thing in common. Not the fact that they have all been inflicted with calamity, but rather what their perspective of life has been after being inflicted. All three do not dwell on the sad matters of life, for each one of them understands that that is the way of life, and that if we spend most or all of our life grieving or complaining then we miss out on the other things that life has to offer. When calamity befalls a person, do not let it keep you down, but rather get up and stand stronger. Tony, Teresa and Jenny all show us that there is a way to e happy in life, but only if you know where to look and never give up on the hope that you can be happy again no matter what you have gone through.

Written by
Nadiah Mohd Nasir
11 April 2015