Everyday, I come across people who inspire me and make me realize how grateful and thankful I have to be for everything that God has blessed me with.A few days ago we had a couple that came to the pharmacy. They were deaf and unable to speak and yet they had perfectly normal kids. What amazed me was how normal they were as a family. The kids communicated with their parents in sign language. We also have another couple that frequent the pharmacy often. The husband and wife are both blind, yet they are well educated holding university degrees.They have their own home and lead perfectly normal lives. We view their loss of vision as a disability but for them it isn't. They full of enthusiasm. They travel, they go to the movies etc with their driver. They such an inspiration to me. The only time my heart breaks is when they call the pharmacy to ask us if its going to rain as they wish to make a barbecue. These people have turned their disabilities into a strength and have made a success out of their lives. Yet on the other hand we find individuals who have no disabilities at all, but are unable to make their lives successful. I have come across university students who simply go to campus to have fun, wasting their parents money. I have come across men who are too lazy to work and depend on their wives to support them. Life is what you make of it. You can be poor but still become successful or you can be from a rich home and be unsuccessful. Life is short. So make the best of everyday that goes by. Wake up in the morning with a positive mind set and tell yourself that you are going to achieve your goals for the day. Rise up at the crack of dawn telling yourself that you are going to make a difference in someone else's life. Simple acts of kindness like smiling or listening to someones else's problems all constitutes towards making a difference. Live each day as though its your last. Live happily and forgive easily. Go to bed every night with a clean, happy heart.
Hi Desert Moon, I thoroughly enjoyed your post “Life is what you make of it.” I also commend you for giving advice to our youth that the time spend at University is a Golden Opportunity and should not be wasted. In brief, my story, so that hopefully someone may realise that Life can change in an instant. I am a Medical Doctor (I have 4 Tertiary Degrees); Executive Director of a large Private Hospital; Executive Director of a TV Broadcast Company on which I presented many shows; Vice Chairman of Human Rights Foundation; Author of 3 published books; Gym fanatic. I was at the top of my game: superb physical fitness and sharp mental acuity (telling myself that I will do this for the rest of my life). One fine morning, I awoke with partial paralysis and severe pain over my left arm (could be a heart attack); Investigations showed multiple Disc prolapses and severe spinal stenosis in C4-C7. Then followed a series of tests and further deterioration. In brief: I have had several minor strokes (TIA); Pituitary infarct; gunshot chest and leg; IBS; Accelerated osteo-degenerative changes; lax ligament syndrome; sleep most days on a recliner (cannot go flat otherwise my breathing stops); in constant pain every single day (tablets are useless and they don’t help; cannot drive a car; have difficulty in moving my neck; unstable legs which meant that I feel recently with bleeding in the brain leading to further memory loss (plus a few more, but you get the idea); so from riding the Crest of a powerful exhilarating wave, I fell to the bottom and felt the crushing weight of tons of water pressing me down; I use a wheelchair on the rare occasions when I go out; so the advice for some youth: next time when you are complaining of the traffic jam, remember that there is a Doctor who can no longer drive; next time you are lazy to study , remember that there is a person who would love to read and study from large textbooks, but cannot lift anything heavier than 1 kg; next time if you complain that your car is parked very far from the entrance to a shopping mall, remember that someone has not seen a shopping mall in 2 years and needs crutches or a wheelchair just to get from point A to point B. We need to look at our own life and count our Blessings, before we lose something and then realise how important a person or body organ has been to our life. Fortunately, perhaps because of my training, I have no regrets, no grief, no sadness; I have embraced my new life and look for opportunities within that limited scope, to make the best of everyday. The best years of my life were at Varsity, and it is sad to hear that some Varsity students are wasting this awe-inspiring phase of their lives. Thank you for a wonderful article and may all that is good for you come to you in great abundance, warmest regards, Dr Ahmed Adam [South Africa].
ReplyDeleteDear Dr. Ahmed, I was speechless after reading your touching story. I commend you for sharing your inspirational story with the world. May Allah bless you and give you complete shifa Insha Allah.
ReplyDeletewhere was the picture taken? its ma sallah.........
ReplyDeleteAt the Hartebeespoort dam...coming down the cable way at sun set
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