(૭૦)..Love and humanity/Special Child

૦૭/૦૮/૨૦૧૭..(૭૦)..Love and humanity/Special Child

Love and humanity

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot

understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realise true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.' Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?'

I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

 In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs, but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognising that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'.

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy and coming home and seeing his mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.

 The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you are thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you are probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realise the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice.

Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said, "Every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them".

 07.11.2014

 માનસી માં પ્રકાશન  માટે

                           I am the child

I am the child who cannot talk.
You often pity me, I see it in your eyes.
You wonder how much I am aware of — I see that as well.
I am aware of much, whether you are happy or sad or fearful,
patient or impatient, full of love and desire,
or if you are just doing your duty by me.
I marvel at your frustration, knowing mine to be far greater,
for I cannot express myself or my needs as you do.

You cannot conceive my isolation, so complete it is at times.
I do not gift you with clever conversation, cute remarks to be laughed over and repeated.
I do not give you answers to your everyday questions,
responses over my well-being, sharing my needs,
or comments about the world about me.

I do not give you rewards as defined by the world’s standards — great strides in
development that you can credit yourself;
I do not give you understanding as you know it.
What I give you is so much more valuable — I give you instead opportunities.
Opportunities to discover the depth of your character, not mine;
the depth of your love, your commitment, your patience, your abilities;
the opportunity to explore your spirit more deeply than you imagined possible.
I drive you further than you would ever go on your own, working harder,
seeking answers to your many questions with no answers.
I am the child who cannot talk.

I am the child who cannot walk.
The world seems to pass me by.
You see the longing in my eyes to get out of this chair, to run and play like other children.
There is much you take for granted.
I want the toys on the shelf, I need to go to the bathroom, oh I’ve dropped my fork again.
I am dependent on you in these ways.

My gift to you is to make you more aware of your great fortune,
your healthy back and legs, your ability to do for yourself.
Sometimes people appear not to notice me; I always notice them.
I feel not so much envy as desire, desire to stand upright,
to put one foot in front of the other, to be independent.
I give you awareness.
I am the child who cannot walk.

I am the child who is mentally impaired.
I don’t learn easily, if you judge me by the world’s measuring stick,
what I do know is infinite joy in simple things.
I am not burdened as you are with the strife’s and conflicts of a more complicated life.
My gift to you is to grant you the freedom to enjoy things as a child,
to teach you how much your arms around me mean, to give you love.
I give you the gift of simplicity.
I am the child who is mentally impaired.

I am the disabled child.
I am your teacher. If you allow me,
I will teach you what is really important in life.
I will give you and teach you unconditional love.
I gift you with my innocent trust, my dependency upon you.
I teach you about how precious this life is and about not taking things for granted.
I teach you about forgetting your own needs and desires and dreams.
I teach you giving.
Most of all I teach you hope and faith.
I am the disabled child.

~ (Author Unknown)

(Reference: http://globalgenes.org/raredaily/poem-called-i-am-the-child-shows-love-gained-by-having-special-needs-child-with-phelan-mcdermid-syndrome/)

     સંકલિત : શ્રીમતી કિરણ અવાશિયા

ગુજરાતી ભાવાનુવાદ: શ્રી કિરણભાઈ અવાશિયા –રાજકોટ...

 સ્વર્ગ નું ખુબજ લાડકડુ બાળક

  પૃથ્વી થી દુર ખુબજ દુર સભા ભરાણી,

નવા જીવ ના જન્મ ણી તેયારી મંડાણી,

દેવદૂતો કહે ભગવાન ને એમ,

આં લાડકા બાળક ને જોઈશે બહુ પ્રેમ,

  કદાચ એનો વિકાસ રૂંધાય,

   તેની સિધ્ધિઓ રૂંધાય,

  એને જરૂર પડશે વધુ માવજત,

 તેથી બનાવો તેનું લાગણી વાળું જગત,

તે કદાચ દોડી,રમી,કે મસ્તી નહી કરી શકે,

તે આખા જગત થી જુદો પડશે,

તે દુનિયા સાથે ભળી નહી શકે,,

તેથીજ વિકલાંગ તરીકે ઓળખાશે,

આપણે સંભાળી ને તેને એવો જન્મ આપીએ,

એવાં માતાપિતા ને શોધીએ,

જેને પ્રભુ તારા વતી તેનો ઉછેર સોંપીએ,

તેઓ તરતજ તેને તેમણે ભજવવાનો

ભાગ સમજવાના નથી,

પરંતુ આં લાડકા બાળક સાથે તે,

 આપેલ શ્રધ્ધા અને પ્યાર ગુમાવવાના નથી,

તેઓ સમજશે પોતાને મળેલ ,

ખાસ ઉદેશ કર્મ ના,

ઉછેરશે પ્રેમ થી આં બાળક ને સ્વર્ગ ના,

આ નાજુક અને નમણા બાળ ના ઉછેર માં

નહી રાખે આળસ,

કારણ કે આ તો છે સ્વર્ગ નું ખાસ લાડકડું બાળક,

 

 Mental Retardation is not a disease, it is a condition

मानसिक मंदबुध्धिता रोग नहीं है,

यह ऐक स्थिति है........

It was a Sports Stadium.

Eight Children were standing on the track to participate in a running event.

* Ready! * Steady! * Bang!!!

With the sound of Toy pistol,

All eight girls started running.

Hardly had they covered ten to fifteen steps,

When one of the smaller girls slipped and fell down,

Due to bruises and pain she started crying.

When the other seven girls heard the little girl cry they stopped running, stood for a while and turned back.

Seeing the girl on the track they all ran to help.

One among them bent down, picked her up and kissed her gently

And enquired as to how she was...

They then lifted the fallen girl pacifying her.

Two of them held her firmly while all seven joined hands together and walked together towards the winning post........ .

There was pin drop silence at the spectator's stand.

Officials were shocked.

Slow claps multiplied to thousands as the spectators stood up in appreciation.

Many eyes were filled with tears

And perhaps even God's!

YES! This happened in Hyderabad [INDIA], recently!

The sport was conducted by

National Institute of Mental Health.

All these special girls had come to participate in this event

They were spastic children.

Yes, they were Mentally Challenged.

What did they teach the WORLD?

Teamwork?

Humanity?

Equality among all?

Successful people help others who are

Slow in learning

So that they are not left far behind.

This is really a great message... Spread It.!

We never do this because we have brains!!!!

હૈદરબાદમાં બનેલી એક સાચી ઘટના વિશેનો એક અત્યંત પ્રેરણાદાયી ઇમૅઇલ હાલમાં જ એક મિત્રએ મોકલાવ્યો. માનસિક રીતે વિકલાંગ એવાં બાળકોની એક સંસ્થાએ બાળકો માટે રૅસ રાખી હતી. આઠ છોકરીઓ એમાં ભાગ લઈ રહી હતી. રમકડાની બંદૂકની ગોળી છૂટી અને રૅસની શરૂઆત થઈ. પળવારમાં તો આઠમાંની સાત છોકરીઓ ગતિથી દોડતી આગળ નીકળવા માંડી પણ એક છોકરી બિચારી ડગમગી અને પડી ગઈ. બીજી જ ક્ષણે એણે રડવાનું ચાલુ કર્યું અને જે છોકરીઓ આગળ નીકળી ગઈ હતી એ બધીનું ધ્યાન ખેંચાયું. પેલીને પગમાં ઉઝરડા પડ્યા હતા અને દર્દને લીધે એ કણસી રહી હતી. રૅસની ઐસીતૈસી કરીને પેલી સાતેસાત છોકરીઓ પાછી આવી અને ઘાયલ થયેલી છોકરીને એ બધીએ સહિયારી ઊભી કરી. એક છોકરીએ પેલીને મિત્રભાવે હળવું ચુંબન કરીને કહ્યું, ”ચિંતા ના કર, દર્દ હમણાં ઓછું થઈ જશે.” અને પેલીને સાંત્વન આપતી, રડવાનું ભૂલીને હસતું મોઢું કરવાનો પાનો ચઢાવતી બધી છોકરીઓ એને ઝાલીને આગળ વધવા માંડી. થોડી જ પળોમાં એકમેકનો હાથ ઝાલી આઠેઆઠ છોકરીઓ એ મુકામે પહોંચી ગઈ જ્યાં રૅસની પૂર્ણાહૂતિ માટેની રિબિન બાંધી હતી. અજાણતાં જ એ બધી એકસાથે એ રિબિન વટાવી ગઈ અને રૅસ જોવા આવેલા લોકો ચકિત થઈ ગયા. કોણ વિજેતા? કોણ પહેલું, બીજું કે ત્રીજું? આ કિસ્સો એ છોકરીઓનો છે જેમની માનસિક અવસ્થા સામાન્ય માણસો જેવી નથી. સામાન્ય માણસો આવું ટીમવર્ક દર્શાવે કે એકમેકને આવો સાથ આપે કે કેમ એ પ્રશ્નનો જવાબ સૌને વિદિત છે. આ કિસ્સામાંથી અનેક મુદ્દા ગ્રહણ કરવા જેવા છે. જિંદગીને સ્વાર્થનાં ચશ્માં પહેરીને જ જોવાને બદલે સહકાર, સાથ અને સમભાવની લાગણીથી આગળ વધારવાની જરૂર છે. સૌ જો આટલું કરતા થઈ જાય તો કોઈ નબળું ના રહે, કોઈ ત્રાહિત ના રહે અને કોઈ દુ:ખી તો બિલકુલ ના રહે.

 - કલ્પના જોશી

A Poem Dedicated to the Parents of Special Needs Children and Mother Teresa

“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.” (Mother Teresa)

I remember meeting a lady about 3 years ago while watching our daughters swim

We shared a few niceties and then the question of how many children do you have came up

I noticed a small pause as she said three but my youngest has cerebral palsy

Without a breath or a thought I said, you must be loved and you must be special You were chosen

She looked at me with a beautiful smile and said that is the first time anyone has ever said that

The normal reaction is Oh I am sorry or not even knowing what to say.

I say there is a reason for every breath and

There is a reason for our eyes to see

There must then be a reason why bees go to the beehive to deposit honey
and not to the sewer to collect honey

For that very same reason there is a reason for children
that then become adults that have special needs

Some may believe that those children are here to learn something

I believe that we are here to learn something from each child
that comes to the world with special needs

These youngsters were in the womb of the universe for centuries before being born

They were in the womb of their mother while mother cradled hopes of running after a toddler

and watching their child fly a kite

The parents of children with special needs have special needs that need to be met by the rest of us

It might be a bowl of love at their doorstep every day

As mother takes teenage daughter to bathe

No longer an infant that is easy to handle

Now the weight of the daughter is more than mother can bear

But never the less, mother is mother

May it be in providing food that father helps or in cradling daughter after a nightmare

Both parents of the special needs children need to be treated with special care

I salute the state in which there is true equality for all

Where there are ramps going to mosques synagogues and churches

Candles may be lit as children dream of passing the torch of truth to us through their eyes

May I learn to hear the music between each and every wink of their eyes

Mothers and fathers I honor your courage and I am not sure if it is destiny or the laws of the universe that have made it so

With that I hold my breath for a moment just to feel what a day of a life other than mine might feel like

Again I will repeat the words of our saint Mother Theresa:

“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much..

સંકલિત ....