Subscribe Subscribe | Subscribe Comments RSS

Archives for Everything Happened for a Reason category

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

Helen Keller

Just about a week ago, I was discussing with my co-workers turned friends that I just realised – again – that as much as we want to reach out and help everyone, we simply could not reach out and help all. Most people would have the idea that I am talking about people who are not willing to be helped. I agree to a certain extent. However, over here, I am referring to someone who we wanted to reach out and to help and we just do not have the expertise or ability yet.

How did I come to realise it? It was all a magical journey if we would so much as to listen to our inner voice and the Universe.

Just a few weeks ago I was in contact with a potential new student to coach. During the evaluation session with the boy and his parent, I realised the boy may be dyslexic; I came to the conclusion from what the parent described to me and from my personal observation. Although I am not an expert in dyslexia, I was able to read about it from books and from people’s personal dyslexic experience before. Besides that, I had a chance to discuss about it with a parent who has two dyslexic children. And because of her own children, she has started a freelance service to help other dyslexic children.

The challenge was how to put forward what I observed and my thoughts to the parent; especially when not all parents will accept that their children are different. Thus I began cautiously by explaining my observation of their boy and giving them the examples of famous people (Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Whoopi Goldberg, Tommy Hilfiger, John Lennon, Richard Branson, Agatha Christie just to name a few) who are dyslexic.

I also stressed that dyslexia has nothing to do intelligent; it is just a form of learning disability and if we are able to find the key to open up the learning in each of the child, he/she will have great potential. Apparently, they have come across that and they just thought their boy is a little slow in his learning. I wanted to link them up to the parent who are doing freelance service to help other dyslexic children but they weren’t receptive about it.

In the end I took up the challenge to give it a go. My co-worker and I went through one session with the boy and came out totally clueless what we could do to help; it was simply not within our ability and expertise. True to my personal observation, he is a very smart boy. Besides that, he can be very focus. I felt that it would not be right for us to coach him; what he really needs is someone with the expertise to find the right key to help him to learn.

My sincere apology to the parent who was willing to give us a shot. Fortunately, they were very understanding.

Through that one incident, it just dawned upon me that as much as we want to reach out to everyone and to help everyone, there will be time when we have to admit that we do not have the ability yet. However, as Helen Keller said, “… because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” We must continue to do what we can to reach out to people who we have the ability to help. With that say, there will also be time when we have to take up new challenge to stretch our abilities.

———————————-
Photo by khattaway

looking back at the mirror

Photo by BadDude

Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies.” – Ann Landers

————————————–

There is power and truth in this saying. And yet, why do some of us let our pasts hang on to us and continue to make our lives miserable? Do we not have the trust in ourselves to let go and move on in life? Perhaps, we do not trust or believe that life will get better? Indeed, it is not always guaranteed that life will get better once we let go and move on. And in some cases it may get worse? So why do we even bother to move on?

That is one question which I cannot answer for you? I believe that everything happened for a reason. For what reason you may ask. Sometimes you would know the reason immediately and other times you would not. Whatever reason it may be, there is always an opportunity to learn from what happened and to grow.

Just as a toddler falling, many times, from learning to walk, the toddler didn’t question why he/she was falling; the toddler just kept on trying.

As for me, it didn’t always get better for me in letting go and moving forward also, but it had not gotten any worst too. In fact, whatever I had thought not possible, proved me wrong again and again. There are times I was broken and thought that I could never love another as deeply again?

And eventually when I met the person with the ‘right’ chemistry, sparks flew and my heart beating once again at the speed of light. Yes, I exaggerated. But I believe you get my idea that eventually we will find the ‘right’ person again – provided we are willing to let go and move on with an open heart again.

Letting go and moving on is not always easy. But it can also be as easy as deciding that we want to move on. Lessons in the past we need to learn but forward we must move on … for that is where our future lies.

I wish for you the strength and courage to take on any challenge that you may be facing in your life now.

Do you have any experience in the past where you had found the strength in letting go and moving forward? How were you able to overcome your challenges? And how did it turn out eventually? I believe your shared experience can empower and inspire others too.

————————————–
Save 50% on your class textbooks at coursesmart.com