The Global Love of Life Award

Recently, Professor Harriet Wu from Fugung University emailed me, asking me where I got the energy to work long hours every day. I replied that whenever I felt exhausted, one look at the Global Love of Life Award from the Ta-Kuan Chou Foundation was sufficient to give me a surge of energy. I cannot let Ta-Kuan Chou down, in whose memory the Love of Life Award was created.

If a 10-young boy with terminal cancer and an amputated leg could write poems that inspire millions, how could I simply give up on life when I can still walk? That’s why I have readily accepted the CTK Foundation’s invitation to publish my autobiography in connection with receiving their annual Global Love of Life Medal.

 Even in the dead of night, the voice of Ta-Kuan never fails to reignite a small spark in my heart and rekindle my love of life. Here is one the many poems authored by him:

Doctor is the judge,

sentencing me to death,

but I am a patient not a criminal

I want to bravely go on living.

 He reminds of Terry Fox, who too lost one leg because of caner. He spent his last year running to raise money for cancer research.

As I remember Ta-Kuan and Terry Fox, I posted a short poem on Facebook recently:

Run, run, run

on two legs or one

Rain or shine

Winding road

Or uphill path

Breath in hope

Breath out love

Run, run, run

No matter where and when
The road comes to an end.

To live is to strive.  To live a purpose-driven life is to overcome obstacles and run the risk of failure and injury.

The alternative is unthinkable. What would life be like, if it is bereft of a vision? Life without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder. Life without struggles would be no different from a living dead.

Now that I have received a stay of execution, a new lease on life, I need to go on living with the same spirit as Ta-Kuan.

To love life fully is to say Yes to life, even when you are at the lowest point and in the darkest hour of your life. To love life is to value all lives and embrace whatever life offers till you breathe your last.

I may not live long enough to see the fruit of my labor, but I can at least sow seeds of hope and love, and spread a tiny light in the dark.

Born for adversity and saved for a purpose

Writing an autobiography is a challenging task. I am old enough to write a memoir, but that is not a strong enough reason. My life takes on significance only when it is embedded in a larger story.

I have lived through seven decades of tumultuous changes – eight years of Sino-Japanese war, four years of civil war, refuge in Hong Kong, 3 years of Korean War, migration to Canada and the many years of struggle to get established in a host country. 

My life story is how to be a first-class human being, when others treat you as a second-class citizen, how to glorify God even when others malign you.

 I have been beaten but not broken. I have been to hell and back. I have been knocked down and counted out many times, but I have always managed to bounce back. I have learned to survive and flourish by embracing pain and death for a higher purpose. I have learned how to love life even when it bites.

The psalmist wrote: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desire of your heart.”  (Psalm 37:4). God has indeed kept his promise, but His gift is costly. We can hold on to God’s promise only by letting go the self and the world. 

When I gaze into the dark sky, the stars smile back at me. The dark night of dying to the self and moving forth towards to fulfilling God’s calling is liberating.  I feel that my life has been purified, strengthened and enriched by the dark night of the soul.  How do we know our folly and hollowness until everything is stripped away from us? How can we learn the peace and joy of oneness with God until we are wounded on life’s busy highway?

I have found a hiding place, an inner sanctuary, unimpeded by the devil. There, my soul is at rest, enjoying the sweet blessing of oneness with God and nature.

Awareness of impending death has become a powerful motivation to love life and live each day with a clear sense of purpose. Death awakens our love of life more than all the promises of success.

I cease to exist, if I stop proclaiming the good news of faith, love and hope to the suffering masses with my deeds, words and being.  That is sufficient reason to share my life story.

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The Global Love of Life award was presented to me by Ambassador David Lee  and Prof. Shu-Mei Chang Chou who represents the Ta-Kuan Chou Foundation at the 5th Biennial International Meaning Conference in Toronto. Click here for the full story.

Here are few photos taken on that occasion.

The event was mentioned in the APA Monitor http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/04/personalities.aspx

http://www.ta.org.tw/97news/970725.html and  http://www.insidetoronto.com/insidetoronto/article/60798

 It was covered by major Chinese Newspapers, such as 星岛日报 Sintao Daily ( singtao) and   世界日报多伦多新闻 World Journal
( www.worldjournal.com) and Chinese TV stations in Toronto.
 www.taiwanngo.tw
http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/chapter_147320_100543.html (This is one of the chapters in my brother
Joshua Wong's autobiography)