Pat Labez

Transcript

If I Could Turn Back Time this here represents time in this lifetime with passing moments we can never take back sadly many people leave this life without even having tried to fulfill their dreams and time just keeps ticking away let me take you to Christmas time 2012. when I got the call from my sister Joy stage four pancreatic cancer and stage two breast cancer I have three months to live that's what they tell me she said I guess I'm not going to see my bucket list until then I didn't even know what a bucket list was but you know what we made one big thing

happen right away Times Square in the bitter winter cold and yet we were feeling warm and excited because there we were looking up at this 12-foot ball coming down this 475 foot Tower with a million voices cheering together five four three two one happy New Year oh and it rained confetti and cheers and music and balloons and oh my gosh everybody kissing each other and hugging each other the air was filled with love and time Stood Still as I watched my sister just looking up at that beautiful bright ball beaming with hope and joy we had just welcomed another New Year it was magical two

years into her journey I woke up unable to move and was diagnosed with a brain tumor I decided not to have surgery and focus on being a caregiver and preparing to be an empty nester as my daughter was getting ready for college I also decided to volunteer and do something creative filmmaking to my surprise I was invited to audition and was offered the lead roles in a short film now it had been 25 years since I was in that scene I thought that was pretty cool right but I couldn't leave my sister that would be selfish shameful sinful right and she leans over she kind

of scoots over and Whispers in my ear says why not Pat what's there to think about oh your destiny Joy convinced me to Embrace Life do the film for me for her and reminded me we had lost a brother at age 18 to brain cancer and another brother and a sister suddenly passed away in their early 50s the future is promised to no one Against All Odds are Miracle girl as the doctors would call her survive four years beyond that three-month sentence and her time was up in 2017 and by the grace of God she must have taken my tumor with her because my next

MRI indicated it was undetectable you know the First Act of life is when we're navigating and learning the skills to find our way through life the second act is all about rear making a living marriage kids our family and our third Act is a time of reflection wisdom and leaving some kind of a legacy I'm in my third Act and I realized that I may not have been afraid to die perhaps I was afraid to fully live in my 60s I reconnected with an old love show business and it's about finding joy in a journey and embracing our Evolution our own evolution you see there's

a simple and foolproof way to find out if hope and potential happiness are in our future and it's been known to mankind for thousands of years and I'd like to show it to you okay raise your hand up high please I know you may have done this before but it's good to be reminded and place a hand over your heart and you feel it beating you know it's not over yet no matter how dark our days may be that beat reminds us that the universe is waiting for us to evolve right along life is a gift that keeps on giving see time's up this is

all we have you guys life is not a dress rehearsal and in the words of Wayne Dyer don't die with the music still in here and I'd like to add don't die with the story of a life well lived still in you thank you

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.

Transcript

and the beat goes on yes the beat goes on you know there's a simple and foolproof way to find out if we have hope or potential happiness in our future okay it's been known to mankind for thousands of years and i'd like to demonstrate that to you this evening okay raise your hand we need to do this every now and then it's a good reminder take that hand and place it on your heart listen if you feel the beat you know it's not over yet you know no matter how dark our days may be that beat is the universe waiting for our comeback you know

life isn't always very pretty is it circumstances beyond our control can sometimes beat our dreams and and and leave it with us screeching halt you know like the war in ukraine when i saw those images i thought about my mom during world war ii she was a concert pianist a journalist who had just interviewed first lady eleanor roosevelt she was living a pretty good life in the philippines and all of a sudden boom just like that she found herself in a dungeon fort santiago where hundreds died she was a prisoner of war i heard of atrocities like babies being tossed up in the air speared

in front of their mothers and when i went back to manila and saw that dark dingy eerie dungeon where they kept her my heart ate just thinking about what she had to go through my mom was one of the lucky ones she survived after a friend helped her escape and the beat goes on she joined my dad in community service and helped thousands of people in poverty in the philippines and even when we migrated to hawaii she continued elevating lives making a difference in her comeback with a flick of a switch my own life changed about eight years ago and i became a prisoner a

prisoner of my mind i woke up unable to move and i was diagnosed with a brain tumor now i had already lost a brother to brain cancer and so a part of me felt like i need to just brace myself for the inevitable it was easy and logical to just give up but the heart kept beating the heart kept beating and i got busy and by the grace of god four years later i was told that the tumor was undetectable and the beat went on i was given a second chance at life so i embraced hope and possibility in my 60s i actually reconnected with

an old love show business and i got back into acting and theater and develop new passions like producing films and live shows and writing and new challenges like standing here in front of you this evening you know it's about finding joy in the journey right they say the first act of life is learning the skills to navigate through life the second act is focusing on our career marriage kids family and the third act of life is the pursuit of wisdom self-actualization and leaving some kind of a legacy you know i saw a study recently that showed people in their 50s 60s 70s and 80s are

actually in the most productive stage of their lives it's what i learned through this whole thing is like life is a gift that keeps on giving for as long as the heart is beating there is hope and possibility and we can live our best lives ever now remember that brain tumor of mine that just disappeared well it's back so i'd like to try that test one more time please join me okay can you feel it the beat goes on and the universe is ready for our comeback yes thank you thank you you

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.

Transcript

if i could find a way how many of you have thought about that wishing and hoping that you could do things differently and if you had a chance to do it all over again what would you do with a flick of a switch life can change as i see the images of war in ukraine i remember my mom a journalist a concert pianist living a good life in the philippines and suddenly found herself in a dungeon at fort santiago where hundreds died a prisoner of war during world war ii i heard of the atrocities like babies being tossed up in the air speared in front

of their mothers when i went back to manila and saw that dark dingy eerie dungeon where she was kept my heart ate imagining what she had to go through just to survive as many are doing today my mom was one of the lucky ones surviving when somebody helped her escape and she led a good life until the long goodbye alzheimer's yes with a flick of a switch life can change it was my mom's alzheimer's that took me into the world of long-term care where i could see and feel the mental emotional and physical toll of aging and impact on families about eight years ago with

a flick of a switch my life changed i woke up unable to move and was diagnosed with a brain tumor while taking care of my sister who was battling pancreatic cancer follow your passion your destiny my sister would say she was my inspiration i lost her four years later and she must have taken my tumor with her because my next mri miraculously indicated it was undetectable with a flick of a switch life can change up or down in darkness and light feeling like i'd truly been given a second chance at life in my 60s i reconnected with an old love show business and i've since

done some television short films a feature film and some cabaret even through covet it's all about finding joy in the journey well we can't turn back time but we can choose the path of joy the future is promised to no one and yet people complain about getting old and i say we're just getting seasoned you know they say that the first act of life is when we learn the skills to navigate through life and the second act is working on our career marriage kids family and the third act of life is about the pursuit of wisdom self-actualization and leaving some kind of a legacy recently

i saw a study showing that folks in their 50s 60s 70s and 80s are actually in the most productive stage of their lives i like that report see i truly believe that i am now living the best age of my life right now what i've learned through all of this is that life is a gift that keeps on giving embrace it and let's help each other celebrate well into our third act find your passion revive your dreams live your best life this competition is a gift to myself part of my efforts to explore new experiences and redefine my life and legacy it's time to share

my voice share my heart and i'd like to think that somehow no matter how small it may be i am making a difference in this lifetime a couple of weeks ago i was told that the tumor is back with a flick of a switch life can change just like that

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.