Rosa's Choices

When my friend Rosa was sick from cancer, a lot of people were inspired by her attitude and personality. She was positive and upbeat throughout her ordeal. I remember at Rosa's memorial, Fei-Fei, her sister, said that food was Rosa's passion. When Rosa couldn't eat anymore, she became the food police in the house. She was asking people what they're eating and living vicariously through them while still being joyous. I wasn't there, but knowing Rosa, I could imagine Rosa saying "Mmmm... wow... that must be good!" with her big smile.

How did Rosa do it? How could she faced what we would consider a calamity with such strength? I think Fei-Fei or Rita, (Rita is also Rosa's sister) said that Rosa didn't know why people were inspired by her. Rosa mentioned something like: "Why people are telling me that I inspired them? I didn't do anything!"

Some people may attribute her cheerfulness to "it's just her", "she was born that way" and "she's just like that". But, there's another ingredient to her being "just like that". It's the choices that she made through her life.

When little annoying things happen in life, she chose to look at the positive side. I've never heard Rosa complained for hours because someone cut her off on the freeway. She would not let little things ruined her day. Choosing to be happy, looking at the positive side, and being able to move on from the little annoying things, made it easier to choose the same attitude for bigger problems in life. She worked her character muscles by lifting smaller weights and progressed to heavier weights throughout her life. When the cancer hit, although she was losing her physical weight rapidly, she was a Hercules inside.

We also have choices to make in life when we face our problems. Will we let the weights drag us down, like a prisoner with ball and chain, or will we use them to better ourselves? Won't life be more enjoyable when we follow in Rosa's footsteps?

Everyone has problems and certain choices are harder to make than others. It takes time and long term perseverance to build those muscles. Life is a marathon, not a sprint, unless of course, you PLAN to die quickly.

So what choices are you making in this journey? What choices will you be making?