some thoughts

I have a couple of things I want to write about but I don't have much time, so I'm going to see if I can mix them all together and still write an entry that makes sense.

Very recently in Japan, a mother gave the middle lobe of her lung to her three year old son.  It was a big news because it's usually the inferior lobe that is used for transplant and it was the first case ever (in the world) that a medical team succeeded in transplanting the middle lobe.  The doctor described that when he held the mother's lung to put into the little boy, it felt as though he was "carrying life（命を運んでいる）".  He said it was a very touching moment (when he thought about it later).

Around the same time, a famous figure skater disclosed to the media that she had given birth in April.  This was a great shock to the public because we all thought she was aiming for the gold medal in Sochi.  Now I see that having a baby and winning in the Oympics are compatible (as long as you don't plan to do it at the exact same time).  She's still up for the Olympics, and I wish her the best.

But at the same time, I could also understand why some people found the news disappointing.  If an athelete wanted to be in best condition she wouldn't choose to give birth less than a year before the Olympics.

Some atheletes say their "goal" in the Olympics is to enjoy.  But I don't think the Japanese public are willing to pay to let atheletes merely enjoy themselves.  Atheletes should realize that the money invested in them could instead be used to save some sick children with dreams to accomplish -- some might want to compete in the Olympics.

When I told my mother the other day that I thought I might be regareded a bit selfish（自分勝手）, she told me that I wasn't selfish but self-assertive（自己主張が強い） and that those were two very different things that were often mixed up in Japan.  Having your own opinion and acting according to what you believe can result in selfish behavior sometimes, but you can still be thoughtful of others while being a "strong" assertive human.

Either way, I don't think it's selfish of anybody to choose what they want.  People have every right to be assertive when it comes to making decisions about themselves -- it's their life.  But maybe, there's something called responsibility too, especially when we're supported by a lot of people.