New experiences
To die or to be kept alive
I flew to Los Angeles in February to bid farewell to my god-grandma (80 yrs old) whom I spent a lot of time with as a child. She was at a hospice after having suffered two strokes that paralyzed her on one side and had also lost her ability to speak. After many months of treatment with no sign of improvement, my aunts had decided to have the feeding tube disconnected. Although it was hard for everyone, but we were positive that grandma would have wanted the same for herself. Interestingly, this happened during the same period as the Terry Schiavo case.
For me, spending time at the hospice was quite an experience although it's not the one that cares for Cat Woman, Captain America, Superman and the gang.
I had never been to any place like it before. As soon as I passed the entrance, a very unpleasant smell invaded my olfactory system. The place was very clean and bright, but it smelled stale and unpleasant. I didn't know how I should feel seeing that many old people gathered under one roof being totally bored but not to death. My nose became accustomed to the smell after a day to two. Getting acquainted with a few of the most quirky residents was a very unusual, sitcom type of encounter.
Grandma's neighbours were very envious of her, because most of them didn't have visitors everyday; but my three aunts had been taking shifts to nurse grandma 24/7 for several months. The nurses loved my aunts and so did the neighbours. They were helping everybody else while they were there and collecting everyone's life stories and health charts!
Some of these very wrinkled senior people really didn't care who they were or what their names were. They seemed to have become miserable children who simply wanted to be rid of their stinky skin pouches. (A Chinese nickname for the body.) They couldn't care less whether there was any continuity or not. They feared not death but the dread of existing without living. That's what the smell communicated.
Before I left Los Angeles, I concluded that longevity is not exactly a blessing and was determined to have a living will made as soon as I returned to Hong Kong or have "NO RESUSITATION PLS" tatooed on my boobies!
Euthanasia is a very important issue that each country should confront for the sake of humanity. It's very debatable whether keeping people alive through medical technology is a humane act or not; and shouldn't everyone be granted the right to choose as for how we want to die?
Life Dynamics
In May, I attended a 5-day life coaching course called "Life Dynamics" with
AsiaWorks Hong Kong. This course was recommended by Henry.
I hated it in the beginning but am very grateful that I have done it. It has helped me to discover my blind spots in life, sharpened my awareness of my weakenesses, and defined my hidden fears. The course focused on empirical learning through games. It made me realize how people usually just operate on automatic gear without any self-awareness. The inability to step out from one's comfort zone to practice lateral thinking is actually the biggest obstacle of personal growth. I hope I will be able to take the advanced course next year.
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