Something ‘special’ happened that day at the Ohio State Central Stadium. Amanda and I were there to cheer for our son Jimmy,who was participating in the 100-yard dash. Jimmy was a ‘special’ kid. He did his homework, got good grades, played basket ball with the local kids and dreamt of running in the Olympics some day.Amanda and I often discussed how proud we were to have Jimmy as our son. God had been really kind to us as we had Jimmy after two miscarriages. He didn’t need to win the Olympics gold to make us proud. In our eyes,he was already our hero.
Coming to the Sports event, NMS was hosting it’s 8th Annual Sports Day at the Ohio State Central Stadium.It was a day full of fun and frolic where the students brimming with enthusiasm, cheered their House participants and spurred them to go beyond their best. Parents,however, were trying their best to catch a glimpse of their li’l one, egging them at every step they took.
The time for Jimmy’s race had come. One by one,the participants assembled at the starting line to take their stance. Amanda held on to my hand tight. We left our seats and made our way to the edge of the Arena to watch Jimmy up and close. For a few seconds, our little Jimmy looked around the gallery to spot us, but he couldn’t. Damn, I can’t tell you the feeling.
All the nine contestants had two things in common.First, all of’em wanted to win this race badly,I could tell that by their faces. And second,they were all ‘special’. Oh I’m so sorry, I forgot to tell you, NMS is a school for the mentally challenged children, that’s how plain and simple I can tell you as a father. But hang on till I finish my story.
At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. Jimmy just ran and ran hard. Every step he took,our hearts skipped a beat. The crowd went beserk. Half way down the track, it was Jimmy in the lead, followed by Harry and Elba in second place. Seconds later, there was pin drop silence. Amanda’s nails had gone into the skin of my hand, that’s how tightly she had held it. Yes, the worst had happened. Jimmy had tripped, tumbled over a couple of times, and was crying. My heart was pounding against the walls of my chest. If only I could run to him and pick him up, make his crying stop. Amanda, on the other hand, had lost her voice and vision. Things can take such a bad turn sometimes that they only make you wonder, why me?
And then we saw something, that was beyond all normal – having fully functioning brain – human ability. The other eight heard the boy cry. One by one,they slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back.....every one of’em.One little boy with Down’s syndrome, bent down and gave Jimmy his hand and pulled him up. Every single person in the arena stood up in surprise as whatever was going on, could only have been orchestrated by God. They dusted off Jimmy’s back and then all nine of’em linked arms and ran together to the finish line. The principal Mr. Harold, the teachers, the staff, the parents and the students, everyone cheered for these nine heroes. They sure had done something that normal people couldn’t.Boy O’ boy,Jimmy was sure on top of his world. They all hugged each other and bowed to the roaring applause.Amanda couldn’t stop her tears.Believe me, people who were there are still telling the story.
Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves, we help others win, even if it means slowing down a bit and changing our course. Life isn’t a race after all.
Every day, each one of us run our own ‘race’ and in this process we fail to enjoy life, as we climb higher, we tend to leave our loved ones behind, our family, our friends, our health, mental peace, everything. It’s like climbing up a mountain and you have a bagpack behind filled up with all the things that matter to you. Everything starting from your family, to your hobbies, to your favourite TV show.Now as you climb higher,the bagpack becomes heavier and more difficult for you to carry.So, what do you do? You slowly start taking things out one by one and leaving them behind.You climb higher and reach the top of the peak.You’re happy that you’ve finally made it and with a lot of pain have conquered the peak. You wanna share your joy…so you look in the bagpack and find it empty.It’s all gone, you’ve left everything behind. And then you look around to see that there are even higher peaks than the one you’ve just conquered.You’ve grown old and tired and have no energy left to go further.You look down the peak and see your life that you’ve left behind.The things in your bagpack meant the world to you, that was life for you, but now, it’s all gone.You realize that you’ve overlooked the magic moments life brought to you, just because you were too fast or too busy in your race.
That day, a bunch of retards (hate to say this) taught us a lesson, that was God’s lesson for us to slow down and stop this mad insane race that we run each day in our lives. Hold on to your loved ones wherever you go on your path to success.Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change. Nobody gets out of it alive anyway.
Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child’s future. Let’s be wise builders and role models.
Life is about people connecting with people, and making a positive difference.Take care of yourself, ... and those you love, ... today, ... and everyday!
Remember, Life is a beautiful journey….It was never meant to be a race !
