–BY SCHON BEECHLER
I had made it through the holidays without the whirl of my hard drive interrupting the quiet peacefulness of warm New Zealand summer days. Now it was time to get back to work. Among the sea of junkmail in my inbox, the annual Christmas letter from Sam, an alum from my Columbia Senior Executive program over a decade ago, beckoned. With a smile, I clicked on it, expecting the usual newsy letter from Sam on life in Asia, his health, and job-related challenges and opportunities. But this year’s letter was different….
The lady who opened the door hugged the wheelchair-bound young man good-bye and said that yes the food in the restaurant is very good. Once inside I quickly ordered my choice, wanting to have a quiet evening, opened my book and proceeded to be oblivious to my surroundings. That was not to be. Across the room there was a commotion of sorts. The lady I met briefly at the door and mistook for the restaurant proprietor was sitting at a long table. She stood up from time to time, went from one child, one young person to another, cradled their heads and hugged them. It looked as if she was teaching them something. A foreign language perhaps, table manners? Some sat in wheelchairs, some screamed intermittently, other just slouched back into their seats, some with saliva drooling as mothers tried to hastily wipe their faces. Not a pretty sight in a restaurant. A short while later the group paid their bill and started to leave slowly. It was only then that I realized that the children had distorted features, some needing propping up. Some of the parents looked embarrassed and tried hard not to show their emotions.
In the modern society which we have crafted for ourselves today, we are increasingly conditioned to mind our own business, all the more so if it means having to lend a helping hand. That said, there are many among us who do indeed devote their lives to selflessly helping others, also without any religious convictions one might add. The vast majority, people like myself included, would rather not step up and help others in need. My first instinct was to finish my food, now that it was relatively quiet again and that would have been the end of the evening. In a split-second decision, I settled my bill and tried to meet some from the group which had just left. I caught up with a small group outside and nervously made my introduction.
I learned that the children are suffering from Cerebral Palsy. CP is a brain and nervous system disorder affecting functions that most of us take for granted – movement, learning, hearing & thinking. An estimated one to three out of every one thousand children born are affected by CP. The lady I met that evening is helping these children & young adults improve their speech capabilities. She has chosen to be far away from her home, living in one of Asia’s fast-growing cities, where the government of the day is doing its level best to present the glamorous side of economic development – tall steel & glass skyscrapers, gleaming fast cars, high GDP at any cost. The less fortunate, including the CP sufferers I met, are sidelined. For them there is no organized healthcare funding which continues to go to more life style-related and often self-inflicted modern-day illnesses like hypertension, obesity & depression.
As another year quickly draws to a close I am resolved to see if and how support can be mobilized to help the small number of CP sufferers, the less fortunate amongst ourselves. I have not sent out any cards this year, also because of some trying personal & professional circumstances, but can say that both my wife and I are blessed with good fortune as we end 2011 being healthy and being free of any disability. So without waiting for 2012 to start, without making this sound like any New Year Resolution, quickly made and quickly forgotten, I would like to make a simple wish:
May we all have More Personal Satisfaction in our Lives, More Inner Strength in the Face of Adversity, More Calm Composure if things turn really bad next year, More Good Health and, above all, More Courage to Help those less Fortunate than Ourselves.*
And so the annual letter ended. I sat for a few minutes, gazing out at the turquoise sea, imaging Sam’s kindly face, his shock of white hair, his twinkling eyes. I haven’t seen Sam in over a decade but he was fully present with me in that moment. How lucky I feel to know people like Sam. His courage in business is legendary, but it was his courage to stand up after a quiet meal and do something so out of the ordinary as to start a conversation with a stranger, that moved me to tears. 2012 is going to be a wonderful year.
Note: This letter is shared with the express permission of “Sam.”
Tags: Asia, cerebral palsy, courage, CP, leadership, making a difference, volunteer