The Disabled Child and the Tattooed Man
Many years ago a very good friend of mine told me an amazing story. My friend was in Brazil and visiting a priest who takes care of more than 500 orphans.
During his visit he wanted to confront the priest with a serious question. For some reason he kept his voice hidden inside. This made him became even more pensive. One day he had the courage to speak out as he could not keep this voice of his inside him any longer.
"Father, if there is a God, why do we always have wars, why all the suffering, why?"
The priest responded by telling him to wait. He walked towards a disabled child, picked him up and walked back towards my friend. "Who are you to question God?" he asked him. "Do you want to know who God is? Here he is," and handed the disabled child to my friend.
This gesture sent shivers down my friend's spine. He held God in his hands. He suddenly understood. He suddenly understood that everyone is special. Even though we cannot control the entire world's destiny, we can make a difference. We can treat everyone as an equal. This is how we become humble. This is how we become wise.
We have to accept the way things are. There will be war. There will be crime. There will be famine.
I would love to see peace throughout the world. Who wouldn't? But if we seek the change within, then the world will be a better place.
When I was younger, I used to think making fun of others was cool. It wasn't. I used to think I was better then the person I spoke about. I wasn't. I used to make conversation with friends in order to feel better with myself. I used to judge. Only God can judge me. Oh, I was young and stupid.
Today, when someone starts talking badly about someone else, or starts to put them down, I quickly express my feelings. I tell them I do not like talking about others. This usually confuses them. Confusion can lead to change.
One day I was walking in Amsterdam. This man, tattooed from head to toe, was walking his pitbull. He walked towards a middle aged couple who were sipping their lattes at a cafe. The man made his pitbull sit and put his hand in his pocket.
He took out a cigarette and asked for a lighter. The couple stopped their conversation and started to chat to the gentlemen. During the conversation the lighter was given to the gentleman and a few minutes after a chat, the man continued his journey.
I do not understand Dutch. Yet I have studied linguistics through NLP and I can tell you that the couple treated him like any other person. This to me was great. We can find it easy to stereotype others on the way they look. We all have our stories. We are all unique. Let's celebrate uniqueness. Let's accept everyone the way they are.
These two lessons have exchanged bad old habits. I have learned to accept. Although I might not see eye to eye with everyone, I accept that we can have different opinions. I do not have to walk hand in hand with someone I feel uncomfortable with. However I can accept then the way they are.
So today celebrate uniqueness. There might be someone who you never liked for some reason. This person could probably be someone you have never even spoken to. Accept to become humble. Accept to become wiser.
CLAUDE CAMILLERI
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Claude Camilleri is a life coach and an NLP Practitioner. If you are interested in life coaching or have any queries, you can send him an e mail at inspirelifecoach@gmail.com, visit www.inspirelifecoach.com or join his Facebook group, Inspire Life Coach.
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