ave you heard about the Oasis Consultation Services for HA Staff? These offer you an opportunity to share your bitter-sweet experiences of life during one-on-one consultations or group sessions with professionals of various kinds and from different religious backgrounds. In this interview, one of their hosts, the Rev Alan Chan, shares his views about the services with HASLink.

With his impressively cheerful and chatty personality, it's surprising to learn that the Rev Chan is a 74-year-old senior citizen. Before he retired, he was a teacher in the Divinity School of Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prior to the 2003 SARS outbreak, he and the other members of Oasis began visiting hospitals together to give talks about spiritual counselling to our colleagues there. Now, he is a host in the Oasis Consultation Services for HA Staff. "I am a Christian minister, so I chat with my HA colleagues from a Christian perspective. Different religions embody the essence of various cultures and types of wisdom, so they offer us a variety of ways to face our lives," he explains.

Life is bitter-sweet. We win and lose at different times. "Pain is inevitable, yet suffering is optional," says the Rev Chan. "You may bear a grudge against somebody, but how do you minimise the degree of hatred that you feel? You may become disappointed, but how do you turn your disappointment into hope?" He candidly admits he cannot help people to solve their problems in a fundamental sense. Yet, he seeks to encourage them to develop greater spiritual strength by sharing his experiences and religious views during his chats with them. "It's unwise to run away from life's problems. Even though it isn't easy to face your difficulties, you don't have to tackle them alone. There are always companions standing beside you, ready to assist."
Would you like to have the Rev Chan as your companion, and allow him to share his experiences of different aspects of life with you? Just let Oasis know if you wish to talk to him when you book an appointment with them. "I hope we can bring out the sunny side of life during our chats!" he says.