Be happy for no reason.

True that life is not always about having fun. Sometimes, it can be hard, like it was just yesterday you had the most blissful moment of your life, but then, in just a snap, you feel unbearably down.

When we were just young children, we are as carefree as a butterfly on a summer afternoon, as happy as a lark and as innocent as a lamb.

As an adult now, we sometimes hard to find humor in everyday life, even your work is as a comedian, but the reality sometimes reality bites.

Whatever I write or transition I want to make it myself, which is all because of the whole continuum of my experience. Happy now, unhappy later. Success here, failure there.

I went to Vietnam with a sole goal and that is only to teach. Haven’t thought that I will be hosting many events after 2 years or write my own blog after 3 years. Or the worst is, I haven’t thought to have cancer here, surgical removal was done here, too, afraid that because of the language barrier my surgery will not be successful, but it was.

Like yours, life is a consistent roller coaster life. I thought mine will stop in midair after finding out I had cancer. But here I am, I’m still alive! I decided to dedicate myself to writing and blog as my advocacy to focus on awareness, wellness and connect to people who have cancer, have had cancer or loved ones that have cancer.

I write a wellness blog, but I certainly don’t claim to be the expert on it. Because of the continuum, I had undergone for the last 4 years I had been living in Vietnam, bittersweet life, and I thought that I also want to share these with you. I also wish to know yours if you want to share here. Behind every person has a story to share; perhaps, you don’t blog or not started yet, but there is always a reason why you’re the way you are, or why I’m the way I am now.

Bittersweet, deadly and sometimes lovely. C’est la vie! I write a wellness blog regularly, but of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t shed tears anymore. Tears are somehow I am good at holding and keeping. And sometimes, others would ask me like,

Why is that you remain bright and cheery whatever life throws at you while others around with a perpetual frown and grumpy face?

As humans, we all cry. But, most of the times, we hide our tears. We are all guilty of answering this question, “Hey, are you okay?” And we like, blatantly obvious to deny it despite our facial expression and tone of voice that we’re not and then we just simply reply, “No, I’m fine.” In my previous blog, a colleague of mine asked me that similar question, and I didn’t hesitate to answer honestly that I feel shit. But there are sometimes that I have to deny or remain silent to avoid a dialogue I fear might end up making me feel worse (which that is sometimes acknowledged and respected).

Despite having a gloomy day sometimes, I always make a choice not to dwell on it. It’s how I change my response to situations on a habitual basis. I cry because I have to validate my emotion at the moment. But, how I think in a certain way, having a habit of being happy regardless of an awful situation, I consciously make a choice to cultivate the way I think the habit of staying happy and positive. And that means, after I cried, I have to focus on one thing that makes my time productively. I don’t keep myself busy in order to forget the unpleasant situation. I intentionally do something worthwhile even with the negativity happened to exchange it for a positive result. Bad things happened, think positive and good things will happen as a result.

Happiness, what I mean is the authentic one. We can be happy when we are having pleasurable experiences or the satisfaction of things go on our way, but it’s like a goal to be attained rather than a simple expression of who we are. And that is difficult to make it consistent because we are only depending on our happiness on external factors. Instead of, it should be the happiness from within, the similar happiness we see in young children, it’s the joy that is uncaused and spontaneously bubbles up from inside for no particular reason.

There is none more important than taking full responsibility for our emotions and especially inner happiness.

Cielo

My name is Cielo, the author of “The Cancer Voice Asia”, a blog that aims to support and inspire anyone who is facing cancer. I know how it feels to be diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of cancer, Leiomyosarcoma, at the age of 29. I know the challenges, the fears, the hopes, and the joys of living with cancer. I want to share my story with you and connect you with others who understand what you are going through. Together, we can empower ourselves and fight against the disease. Join me on this platform and let’s make our healing journey a meaningful one.