“…work won’t kill; bad habits do …”

“I was truly happy to have you and Gertrude, my two good old friends, coming to see me the next day after you arrived in Hong Kong from Toronto while I am struggling with my battered health after a kidney removal major operation. Though your visit was short, you did make the day for me.  I forgot all my discomfort during your presence, as witnessed by the photos attached.

When you asked whether I had worked too hard after my return to Hong Kong and that might have caused the disease, my immediate answer to your question was: “not necessary”, because all I did in Hong Kong was purely out of my own interest and I got much satisfaction out of it.  As promised, I am now sending you a list of some of the things I have done since my return to Hong Kong in late 2009.  I find myself more useful to my fellow people here.  This may explain why I have decided to stay in Hong Kong instead of returning to Canada as I first thought I would.

Please click to read “on promoting Hong Kong art“.

The above are just some of the activities I took part on promoting Hong Kong art which is my personal life long interest. They were carried out at my own pace. I still have time to serve the Hong Kong Cultural Services Department as their Honorary Art Adviser, to be the judge of some art competitions, writing articles for my artist-friends whom I respect, practicing Chinese painting and calligraphy, taking photos and playing with them in the computer with PhotoShop, and, above all, writing emails to you reporting key activities of WYK past teachers in HK, etc at leisure.
To turn back to your original question on the cause of my disease, I can say work does not kill people, but worry and bad living habits do.  I come to realize that I had a bad living habit which I cultivated when I was in Canada which might have activated my cancer cells.  When I was in Canada, I used to stay late at night up to 1, 2 or 3 a.m. going over the international stocks markets, watching TV and surfing the web.  I sold all my stocks when I returned to Hong Kong, but the bad habit of staying late at night continued.  That was how I found a lot of time doing my writing of articles and books.  However, it was bad for my health, as it broke down the natural rhythm of life without knowing it.  In the long run, it weakened our immune system, thus giving the bad cells inside the body a chance to grow and multiply.  Hence, my advice to our retirees: Although you have complete control of your time, go to bed and retire early at night.  Try not to stay later than mid-night for special occasions.”