A life too short

The help from folding cranes

We cannot imagine how Sadako felt exactly after she was diagnosed with leukaemia. She might feel angry and asked "Why me?" She might have the feeling of anxiety, fear of the unknown, feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. Death seemed to be too scary and too complicated for her to understand.

Waiting to die was an overwhelming feeling for Sadako. She started folding cranes with the suggestion of a classmate. (The Japanese believes that by folding a thousand cranes, a wish will come true). She found that focusing on the precise folds of the cranes helped to distract her from the awareness of time. This also eased the feeling of frustration and boredom. While started folding the cranes she could feel some hope. She occupied herself with something meaningful to her. This helped her to replace the negative feelings with something positive.

Through trial and error, she found that a five by five centimetre piece of paper was most suitable for her to handle. When she completed one crane after another, she began to feel that "I can do something to help" and " I am in control". She found a new purpose in life both for her health and for world peace.

In her final days, the only diversion from pain left to her was making the paper cranes. Eventually she died in her sleep. The folding of cranes provided a meaningful purpose. The concentration in folding brought calmness for the final journey of her life.

What happened to her was very sad. Her friends helped to make up the 1000 cranes for her funeral. This gradually generated more strength. A club was formed. A monument was built in the Hiroshima Peace Park. Now there is a Peace Day on August 6th every year. Through this story more people can see the importance of PEACE.