Two Litres of Tears, One Box of Tissues

The translation of "Only Human" - by K - theme song of "One Litre of Tears"

On the other shore of sadness,
It is said that there is a smile,
Finally we arrived,
But what are we waiting for?

The purpose is not to run away,
It's to chase after dreams
We should have gone out to travel,
On that summer day so long ago,

Even tomorrow, if you see it.
Thought there isn't a sigh either,
Like a ship going against the current flow,
Right now, go forward, move ahead

Even if it cuts through the rain and clouds
The wet roads shine,
Only the dark will teach,
A stronger and stronger light,
Be strong, go forward move ahead.

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I'm not a cry-baby...In fact, those who know me know that I never cry in front of other people. Nor do I cry very easily. But over the past few days I have been watching a Japanese drama called "One Litre of Tears"...and every single episode made me cry. I wept Two Litres of Tears...and used One Box of Tissues. LOL.

Jokes aside, the story was really one that touched my heart. Essentially, it's about a young Japanese girl who contracts a disease called Spinocerebullar Denegration disease - one which has no cure. She slowly loses mobility: the ability to walk, to talk, to write, to eat by herself...and, in the end...dies.

One of the things that truly touched me about this drama series was how courageous the girl was. It made me look at life differently. Every day, we take things for granted. We take for granted the fact that we can walk. We take for granted that we are able to write and that our hands and feet move properly. We take for granted the fact that we have the freedom, option and ability to engage in whatever activity we want to partake in.

But what if these options were taken away from us? What if we had no choice...what if we had to stop doing the things that we liked because of a disease which rendered us incapable of continuing? Or what if we had to sacrifice something that was so important to us...that was really, truly meant the whole world to us...just because?

One of the saddest things about life is the fact that we don't ever seem to treasure and value what we have. And in the end, when it flutters from our grasp...we can do nothing but feel regret...and use up a whole box of tissues weeping two litres of tears.

Hence, don’t you think that we should treasure and cherish each day as if it were our last? No matter what happens in life, we should be courageous…be brave…to be able to pick up ourselves and continue to move forward…and live on.