What an inspirational letter by Jack Layton, and kudos to The Journal for publishing it. Even when Layton knew that his battle with cancer was not to be successful, he kept his party, Canadians and the future of this country in his uppermost thoughts. He also reminded us that we should not take life for granted, nor our loved ones.
My family has a long history with cancer. Both my mom and dad died because of this disease. More recently, my daughter died from a brain tumour. Her first-year memorial will take place on her parents' 40th wedding anniversary.
Like Layton, my daughter never gave up. She fought hard and tried to help others through fundraising for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.
I think the most important part of Layton's letter is his message to others who are fighting cancer themselves. We all know many people who have won their personal battles with cancer - people who say they are better people because of their trials, people who have learned to appreciate life and family more because of their struggles and successes.
Some of you may have seen the Fringe show This Is Cancer, where the audience gets to personally meet Mr. Cancer. The array of emotions the spectators feel is awesome: anger, fear, sadness and shock. Yet there is laughter and joy, especially when the audience gets to help "beat" cancer and look forward to eventually eradicating this earthly scourge.
Layton's message is clear: "Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic."
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The purpose of life is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." This is Jack Layton's legacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment