« Open Letter | Main | Duh! »
July 10, 2005
Defining Moment
I was asked in an interview last week if there was a moment in my life that helped me decide to work with kids. I told the interviewer about a number of ‘defining’ moments, a few of which, I have posted on my blog. One specific moment (which I wrote about earlier this year and have decided to share once again) came to mind when I saw a young man with Down Syndrome in my local coffee shop with his mother. The lad's infectious smile and joyous demeanor reminded me that all the worries I had assigned myself for that day, were not worth worrying about at all.
He also reminded me of a time in my life when I thought I was the most important being on the planet. I was about sixteen and thought I knew everything. I had the world by the horns and I was riding it like a bull at a rodeo. Until one of the Campbell sisters (I think it was Janet) signed me up (without my knowledge) as volunteer at the Avril Elizabeth Home for kids with special needs. (Most of the kids were Down Syndrome kids.)
Yes, Janet Campbell took it upon herself to “save” the wayward neighborhood kids who were in her eyes, ‘wasting their lives’.
She sentenced me to community service without me even committing a crime. (Other than being full of myself and… well…I did steal candy from the Orange Grove Café and…I did steal a chemistry set from Brendad Gaylis.)
I tried my best to get out of going to the home, but my parents would hear none of my excuses.
So I went. I hated being around those kids!…for about five minutes. Then my whole outlook changed. I had an absolute blast. Volunteering at the Avril Elizabeth Home was one of the highlights of my life.
What an experience. I learned the meaning of the phrase unconditional love. I learned that giving a far more rewarding that receiving. I also learned that there is no letter ‘I’ in the word team.
Thanks to a nudge from Janet Campbell, I was helped off my pedestal before it was kicked out from under me.
I remember one day at the home a kid with Down Syndrome named Darren came up to me in tears. Someone in his neighborhood had been teasing him. He puts his arms around me and sobbed. He was a big chap and he almost smothered me with his pain.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Some kids made fun of me.”
“What did they say?” I asked.
“They said I’m a monster from a movie.”
“You’re not a monster.” I replied. (My heart hurting with his pain.)
“I’m not?”
“Nah. THEY are the monsters. Snot-nosed little monsters.”
He pulled back and clapped his hands with glee. Then he suddenly turned serious.
“Are you my friend?” he asked, looking me dead in the eye.
“Always Darren.”
“Thank you my friend,” he said, almost bowling me over with a second bear hug.
“Hey Darren,” I said as he turned to leave. “You are too cool.”
He paused, tilting his head. He looked at me for a few seconds.
“No.” he said, earnestly. “You be the cool one. I’ll be the hot stuff. My mom said that's what I am.”
Sometimes a little nudge can motivate us to do good things. Things we might not normally do. As Socrates said, “A man who would move the world must first move himself.”
Like the story my dad once told me about billionaire businessman who had a party at his mansion. To add drama to his event, he filled his swimming pool with sharks. He then told his guests that he would give the first person to swim across the pool the choice of a brand new home or the position of president of one of his companies.
Before he could finish his announcement there was a large splash in the water and a man swam quickly across the pool.
The billionaire approached the man and said, “That was an amazing performance. What prize will you choose?”
The swimmer caught his breath and replied, “Right now I don’t really care about the prize. I just want to find the person who pushed me into the pool.”
Posted by trevor at July 10, 2005 08:31 PM