TRUTH BE TOLD

KEEP GOING! BECAUSE LIFE IS A GIFT

There are so many people who bravely face their health issues with positive attitudes. Image credit: NEWS CANADA.

By DR VICKI BISMILLA

Like tens of millions of people around the world I recently experienced a scary health issue like many of you may have.

I must confess that these occurrences make one feel vulnerable and inclined to feel sorry for ourselves. But I look around me at close family who have experienced much more serious health scares with a much braver attitude and I know that I must slap my head out of self pity and get on with life.

I welled up as I read an article by Lovina D’Souza in the February 2026 issue of Desi News. The story of Willie the guitarist who accidentally became blind while helping kids light fireworks, and of the unspeakable tragedy that he and his wife Gertie suffered when they lost their son, just tugs at the heartstrings of readers. But Willie and Gertie find strength in each other and lovingly travel the world together in one another’s embrace. Another senior, Renaud, continues to travel after losing his beloved wife and lives by the motto, “The important thing is to be fit and young at heart as we cannot reverse age”. Another amazing senior Lovina profiles is Shreelatha who at age 80 travels the world and does such youth-inspired activities like bungee jumping! She says, “At almost 80, I am still travelling solo. When you have a passion for travelling, age does not come in the way. I always feel young and think young. Age is just a number.”

These are all inspiring profiles of people with positive attitudes who embrace the gift of life. They made me slap my head (pun intended) out of self-pity. They each went through such deep life experiences and came out as brave as brave can be.

As well, of course, after you’ve had a health scare you start hearing about others who have had health issues out of the blue and just went about their lives, no big deal. They experienced it, were afraid for the duration, had the tests, dealt with what needed to be done and just continued their life journeys with bravery and equilibrium.

So, after reading about those amazing senior citizens and avid travellers, one thing I know for sure is, “Snap out of it!! Life is short and given as a gift by God”. Live it with honour, grace and fortitude and trust in the love of our miraculous children and their families whom we’ve been blessed with and the warmth from the love of beautiful friendships.

There are so many people who bravely face their health issues with positive attitudes. We only hear about the famous ones like Michael J. Fox and how he stoically handles his debilitating Parkinson’s disease. Deepika Padukone has spoken about her personal struggle with depression. Lisa Ray and her battle with cancer; Helen Keller and her determination about living life as a successful blind person; Beethoven who, despite deafness, created the world’s best-known symphonies; Shania Twain and Lyme disease; Ryan Reynolds and his struggle with anxiety; award-winning mathematician Hannah Fry and her cancer surgery; Andrea Bocelli, the world-renowned tenor with the beautiful voice who was born without sight.

Apart from individual health issues there is the phenomenon of societal health and well being. In the Opinion section of the Toronto Star, recently I saw an article titled, This overlooked phenomenon is causing us all to age prematurely. The article tackles the harmful discrepancies between the super-rich and the rest of society. It highlights the studies of health and science researchers around the world who tracked stress as the cause of disease and found that stress, particularly inequities between the wealthy and society in general, can increase inflammation in the body and decrease antibodies to fight disease. A quote from that article:

“Our social environment, and its inequities, are harming our health.

“...Luckily, we’ve found an antidote to premature aging and illness that decreases our individual inflammation while we work to make our larger systems less inflaming for us all: Connecting with one another to care for our collective and fix its imbalances...The negative effects of disconnection were completely reversed when people reported meaning and purpose in life.

“...No amount of anti-aging remedies [potions] will keep us healthy when the societies that we’re entangled within are sick and split apart.”

This is an important article for us all to read and I’m hoping that our readers can find it in the newspaper section of your public libraries.

Even medical information sites like the Mayo Clinic say, “Friendships can have a big effect on your health and well-being...Good friends are good for your health.” They suggest that we stay in touch with people with whom we had good friendships at work; meet and get to know neighbours; make time for family; reach out to people whom you would like to know better; go to community events; volunteer; accept invitations; go for walks. But they caution about social media.

The American Psychological Association suggests that high quality friendships can be made at any age and that friendships can positively impact brain health and protect against mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. Similarly, many other researchers have connected health and the healing power of close friendships.

There is such a vast amount of information once you start reading up on the various issues that people in our own circles, our communities, family, friends and acquaintances go through. And reading through the huge cache of research, we realize that we know so little, understand so little, understand nothing about so much. We are just a tiny speck in the universe.

Let’s try to be a sparkling speck for our loved ones.

Dr Vicki Bismilla is a retired Superintendent of Schools and retired college Vice-President, Academic, and Chief Learning Officer. She has authored two books.