Last weekend I was invited to perform at the Annual General Meeting of the Hong Fook Mental Health Association. What a wonderful group of people! When I arrived, I was warmly greeted by staff and volunteers, who were all working hard to prepare for the event. Many of the volunteers are themselves people who live with mental health issues, and it was so encouraging to see them being accepted and be appreciated for all they contribute. I was invited to share my journey with depression through music and words. I sang and spoke for about 30 minutes, and was touched by the warm and gracious response from everyone. I ran into and old friend who works for Hong Fook. She didn’t have to go to the meeting that day but she told me she made it a point to go because apparently she couldn’t get tickets to my last concert and when she found out I was performing she wanted to make sure she was there to encourage me. As it is always the case, just when I think I am going to bring encouragement, I end up being the one encouraged.
When the emcee of the meeting was introducing me and I was getting ready to go on, I looked at the programme for the first time and saw that beside my name, they put the description: “survivor”. Now, I’ve been called many things in my life, but this is the first time I’ve been called that 
At first I wasn’t sure what to think of it, but then it hit me that “title” puts me in a pretty elite group. A group that many of you belong to…
I thought of those of you who have lived though the trauma of unemployment. When you received notice that you have lost your job. A thousand fears flooded your mind that instant…will you lose your house? How will you pay for your son’s schooling? Where will you find another job? How will you tell your wife, she will be so worried…but you didn’t quit. You pulled through, still standing tall.
I thought of those who had been hurt by those whom you loved, those whom you thought were friends. You were betrayed, let down, wounded, abandoned, left to die. You vowed you will never trust again, never love again, never give anyone else a chance to hurt you again. Yet you couldn’t live up to that vow. Your loving nature came through, and today you found yourself with new friends and a new community.
I thought of those of you who lives with the threat of disease. When the diagnosis first came, it was like the pronouncement of a death sentence. But rather than dreading and worrying and fearing how long you still have, you set out to treasure each and every day. Your lives remind me of the truth that ALL of us are dying. But it is up to us to choose whether we want to truly LIVE.
As I looked down at the programme: “Keynote Presentation: Alfred Lam…Survivor”, I felt proud to be in your company. Look at you! You are here! You lived through it! Congratulations!
As opposed to my “previous life” when I was introduced as “Dr.” or “Rev.” or “Pastor”, my new “title” reminds me that I do not speak as one who is “above” the audience. I am just one of many who share the same journey. For some of us the journey has been long. For some the climb is steep. ALL of us have times when we want to stop. But in the end, what matters is not how fast we walk or if we are quicker than the next guy. What matters is that at the end of each day, we are still standing. We have survived. We will rest, and then we will face the battle of another day.
Here’s to you. Here’s to all of us: “The Survivors”.
