Credit: Foto de Sebastian Hietsch
The celebrations are gone. The fireworks displays have cleared from the sky. and people are back to their normal routines-work,school,commuting, shopping etc. So for another year we will struggle yet again to fulfill our commitment to life.
I woke up this morning, like most other mornings, stared to the beautiful darkness above. The sky has started to reveal the colorful layers of the clouds. The dawn is preparing for the sunrise that will spear its mighty rays through the clouds in a short while.
My ride to the surau was suddenly interfered by the glimpses of red light. An emergency red light warning in the middle of a dark road. I slowed down and saw Haji S in his wheel chair edging by the side of the road towards the Surau. It is a common scene to us here to see him riding his wheelchair. An everyday situation and we will cautiously pass him after a brief twit to acknowledge our awareness of his whereabouts.
This morning my thoughts went further to remind myself of determination, opportunity and courage.
Haji S suffers a paralysis from the waist down. He was once a keen golfer and active sportsman. An accident occurred and some of his abilities were taken away. Or is it?
A fun-loving person, his presence always lights up the room. He never sit alone in the surau but would always be surrounded by people. His positive vibes extentuate the ambience of the place; no matter where it is. The first time I talked to him was like a couple of friends being reunited after being away for a long time. So easy to talk with him and coming from me that is extra ordinary. I am a quiet person and was told from childhood not to talk to strangers. But during that first meeting, he made me so comfortable that I forgot that I just met him and my family moved to this area a few weeks ago.
At home, as he told us when we visited him once, he would do all the house chores from cooking to lawn mowing. He has one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever been to, the lawn was well manicured and the landscape just awesome. All of them done with him in the wheelchair. What a spectacular guy!
So when a person has a such determination nothing will stop him from living a life maybe more colorful than us. I hope his courage and determination will spread across the globe and enlighten everyone with similar limited ability to see life like he does.
As he wheeled himself out of the surau and into the street, I stood there astonished by the opportunity to know him and see him almost everyday.
