Wu Wenxin's Final Reminder: Life Must Be Truly Lived
"Survival seems to have gained so much more meaning. I don't just want to survive; I want to 'live' well."
#WuWenxin After she passed away, I listened to the interview recording from that day again.
Her voice was still as gentle and powerful as ever, occasionally choked with emotion, but without a trace of self-pity.
It was an interview before her 50th birthday.
That year, which should have been just another ordinary milestone in her life, became a watershed moment for re-examining life due to a recurrence of breast cancer and its spread to her lymph nodes.
She fought cancer relentlessly, and her positive attitude was deeply moving. Looking back today with sadness, it's especially painful. I always hoped she would live a long life, watching her two daughters grow up with a smile.
That was my weakness. But Wu Wenxin told us that in her final days, she truly lived.
【Life is Fragile Yet Precious】
It was in that year of recurrence that she began to truly see "life." She said, "Only now do I realize how fragile life is, yet how precious it is."
During the interview, she had just returned to Hong Kong from treatment in Thailand. She had lost a little weight, but her spirits were high. Her voice was strong, her thoughts clear, though her eyes were frequently red.
Many times, her tears weren't from pain, but from "understanding."
"My outlook on life and values have definitely changed," she said slowly.
"This cancer has made me reflect a lot, thinking about my past life… I used to worry too much, plan too much. Now, thinking back, what was the point of planning so much? What was the point of worrying so much?"
Then, she gave a bitter smile.
"It turns out you can die at any time."
She said she was "not afraid of death." She knew very well that that didn't mean giving up.
"I don't just want to survive; I want to 'live' well."
She said this softly, but with great weight.
"Life seems to have gained so much more meaning. If I'm still alive to do more, I'll do more meaningful things."
[A Change in Perspective] Looking back now, that tone of "if there's still time" carries a hint of premonition.
She began to relearn how to be a person. The first thing to change was the way she viewed others.
"Before, the most normal thing to do was blame. If something made me unhappy, I'd blame others," she confessed frankly.
"Blaming others is what makes you feel most comfortable. Actually, when you point one finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at yourself."
She said that much of her pain wasn't inflicted by the world, but rather by her own inability to forgive herself.
"I hit rock bottom before, I was so heartbroken, I just let myself stay there. I could have pulled myself out, but I didn't. I was still stuck in that place, making myself miserable."
She suddenly raised her voice, as if reminding herself, and everyone else—"But how miserable really? Lots of people are worse off than you!"
Her transformation wasn't just in her thinking. It was her whole being, moving from "pretending to be strong" to "being honest."
"My personality is inherently strong, or rather, I pretend to be strong," she admitted.
"I hide my vulnerable side, I'd cry my eyes out but never let anyone see it."
But after becoming ill, for the first time, she allowed herself to break down.
"I've shed more tears in the last few months than in most of my previous life."
She described those moments of losing control: "I cried while driving, I cried while walking, I cried while watching TV."
Those tears were no longer tears of shame. Instead, they were a release.
"Now, very few things touch me, especially the support and love from friends. I'm so moved I can't help but cry."
[Accumulated Tears]
In her book, *Reborn Through Love*, she further reveals that these tears didn't appear suddenly, but were the result of years of accumulation.
If illness made her re-evaluate life, then her experience of investment losses almost shook her long-held belief in "security."
She has never been a spendthrift. On the contrary, she is very frugal.
She is mindful of money and achieved financial freedom early in her life. Her savings alone were enough to allow her to comfortably cope with the future, including life after her divorce.
She has always been cautious about investments. But ironically, during the years when she most needed security, her health began to deteriorate, her marriage crumbled, and she chose another way to "add a layer of protection" for herself.
She began to increase her investments. She thought she was paving the way for the future, but it spiraled out of control, resulting in the loss of most of her life savings.
She invested in various projects, almost all of which failed, leaving her nearly penniless. The most devastating blow came from "trust."
[Scammed by a Friend]
She entrusted a considerable sum of money to a friend. This friend was already heavily in debt and had secretly used her money to pay off his debts. She lamented, "That money is like a stone thrown into the sea."
The friend later attempted suicide by burning charcoal due to debt pressure, promising to repay the money after being rescued, but to this day, all that remains is the word "wait."
Most tragically, she had worked so hard to plan for the future, even purchasing women's health insurance years ago and paying it off for many years; yet, a few years ago, she decided to cancel the policy, and shortly after, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Fate played a silent joke on her. [Divorce VS Rebirth]
Marriage was another challenge. She said, "I just wanted a happy home." But the reality was that resentment and negative energy came wave after wave.
She tried to mend things—marriage counseling, therapists, life lessons, even seeing a priest—but she finally understood: "People don't change, only relationships do. One-sided efforts can't fix anything."
"Whenever I quiet down, that feeling of depression and helplessness washes over me, making me silently cry."
It turned out that before cancer, she was already "consuming herself." The unfortunate diagnosis of cancer, ironically, made her stop. Even more so, it was a rebirth. She decided to file for divorce. She said, "Many people neglect to take care of their own hearts."
"Cancer taught me to live in the present moment." She looked me in the eyes and said this with absolute certainty.
"My biggest problem was thinking, thinking and then doing." But after getting sick, "I act immediately on whatever comes to mind."
She also learned to refuse to see people she didn't want to see. "Don't waste time socializing with people I don't want to see."
Looking back at her past self, "I used to spend so much time drifting aimlessly, going out to play and socialize; thinking about it now, it feels like a waste."
That awakening was tinged with regret, but more so with determination.
【Ultimately Choosing Clarity】
She no longer only saw her own suffering.
"It turns out there are many people on the same path who are suffering even more than me."
She said this calmly.
"I realized that cancer might not be such a big deal after all."
This wasn't a dismissive statement, but a shift in perspective.
Finally, she talked about how she couldn't let go of her family, especially her two daughters.
She had hidden her illness until it worsened, when she finally had to tell them. But what she received wasn't fear, but love.
She often says, "Life is going on, everything continues as usual."
That's not denying the illness, but choosing how to live.
In her final interview, she said, "Life seems to have gained so much more meaning."
At the time, I only thought it was an experience born from a serious illness.
Looking back now, it's clear she finally understood after experiencing loss, collapse, mistakes, repression, love, and letting go.
Her final choice wasn't suffering, but clarity.
If we were to use her words as her final reminder to the world, perhaps it would be this: "Think of something, do it immediately."
She said we always think we have time, but time never waits for anyone.
And in her final days, she fulfilled many dreams and inspired many like-minded people.
She truly lived.
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