I got an email from my colleague asking me nicely to pass this message on. It is a poem written by a dying teenager girl who will soon leave the world due to cancer and living in a hospital in NY. This young girl has 6 months left to live, and as her dying wish, she wanted to send a letter telling everyone to live their life to the fullest, since she never will. The poem is quite beautiful and absolutely touching to anybody who still has a heart to be moved or has a space to let him or herself to loose his/her tears. The message was initially sent by Dr. Dennis Shields, Professor of Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology in New York. It was said that “By you sending this to as many people as possible, you can give her and her family a little hope, because with every name that this is sent to, The American Cancer Society will donate 3 cents per name to her treatment and recovery plan.”
I have carefully read the poem and did feeling very touched. As my helping role working in a caring industry, I was supposed to easily follow the request of my co-worker and help to pass it on to others such as my friends or whoever in my email address list, but I didn’t do so after a mindful thought.
I always refuse to do so-called chain emails, even if taking a risk of being cursed or getting bad luck. Last time I got an email asking me to pass on a message which was about being grateful for your mother and it was said if I passed it on, my mother would get blessed or something. I didn’t. And the time before last time, I received an email saying if I don’t pass it on, I would get bad luck. Guess what! The email stopped running at my inbox. I would never know if my bad luck is due to not sending that email (if there will be a bad luck for me in the future). I hate people force you doing something by threatening you that you would have a bad luck if you don’t do it. It’s very insincere and simply not a good way to convince people. If you don’t do it, it’s not that you are cold-bloodied or have a cruel heart or you are selfish, it’s just because you know what RESPECT means to your life or other people’s life. It’s like someone makes you swallow something they think delicious, nourishing and good for your health but regardless whether you like it or not by saying that “if you don’t eat it, you will definitely die soon”.
My suggestion is – Let people find out themselves. Don’t be afraid to be threatened or cursed. Understand people’s good hearts but meaning well doesn’t mean they have chosen the right ways to express their good meanings. Leave those stupid people’s requests aside; never be a part of human’s stupidity.
As for this girl’s poem, I can see human’s kindness in it. But I prefer other ways to pass it on, like blogging it here, not sending it to someone’s email boxes. I hope people would judge themselves whether they will read it or not, and whether they would like it or not.
Slow Dance
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done!
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You’d better slow down
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Ever told your child,
We’ll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,”Hi”
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift….
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
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