The paralyzed man

I was eating breakfast at the hotel and I saw a man, probably 45 years old, in a motorized wheelchair.  I noted that he was friendly and pleasant to a number of people.  I wondered, how long have you been in the chair?  Do you have an illness?  What does a brain have to do to come to grips with such a lack of mobility?

You and I, we take walking for granted don't we???

So his pleasant demeanor reminded me of the story of the paralyzed man... Once upon a time, a man was paralyzed in a car accident.  He was laying in bed, completely bed ridden.  His friends were terrified to visit him because they did not know what to say.  They had in the past spent so many days working together, so many nights playing softball and having a beer at the bar and grill.  They just had no paradigm for how to relate to his new situation.  Finally one friend decided to overcome his fears and visit the paralyzed man.

When he got to the bedside of his friend, he was shocked to see that the friend, even though paralyzed for life, had a smile on his face.  The paralyzed man said, "Oh, Jim, I am so glad that you have stopped by.  I know that you all worry about me, but since the accident, I am alive like never before.  Beautiful things that were invisible to me in the past are now quite clear.  I have come to enjoy the breeze that blows through the open window.  I am paying attention to the calls of the birds.  I have learned to tell which bird makes what sound.  I can tell if they are happy or distressed.  At night I see the stars.  I am learning the constellations.  And when you come to visit me, you have my full attention, I am not distracted by other things, I am only thinking of you.  So you see, although everyone is worried about me, I am alive now in ways that I never was before."

End of story.

May we all wake up to the beauty and amazingness of the world around us.