Online inspirations

Three letters: PMS.  Three words: former love interest. And everything goes awry. It was just my luck that my cable television connection conked out just when I needed immediate distraction. So I switched on the netbook, logged in to Facebook, and caught up on my friends’ updates. I was about to find out the first letter of the name of the man I would marry when I noticed that many of my friends from the Organizational Change Consultants International personal leadership seminars that I took two years ago (they changed how I live my life, these seminars) were sharing this particular video of a handsome young man with no limbs giving a talk about falling, not losing hope, and getting up.

In the video, the man, whom I would later learn is Christian motivational speaker and general lover of life Nick Vujicic, bursts forth onto the stage, introduces himself, says he has no arms and legs, but has “a little chicken drumstick” where his leg should be, and proceeds to play some beats on his little electronic percussion instrument. He displays an amazing spirit as he dances to his own music. A few minutes later, he drops to his stomach on the makeshift stage, saying that sometimes, along the way, you fall down, but what should you do?

“There are some times in life, when you feel you don’t have the strength to get up, he says, “Do you think you have hope?” He continues, “I’m down here, face down, and I have no arms and no legs. It should be impossible for me to get back up, but it’s not. You see, I will try one hundred times to get up, and I fail 100 times, do you think I’m ever going to get up? No! So I try, and I try again and again and again.” Then he looks quietly at the young audience, and says, “And I tell you this is not the end. It matters how you’re going to finish. Are you going to finish strong? You’ll find the strength to get back up. Like this.” Then, slowly, painstakingly, he shows the audience how he, a man with no arms, has learned to get up after a literal fall: first, he rolls over to what looks like a book, puts his head on it, pushes his body up with the support of his head, and then stands up.

And you think you have excuses not to live a full life!

I made a quick Google search and discovered that Nick was born to devout Christian parents (his dad was even a pastor) and no medical reason was given for his condition. He survived rejection and bullying, and, with the help of his parents, who had to deal with their own struggles in accepting the fate of a disabled child, developed an amazing spirit that led to an outstanding life. He can swim. He has two degrees (accounting and financial planning—imagine not having hands with which to compute). He has his own ministry. He has goals which he pursues on a regular basis, some of them lofty: writing several books and appearing on the Oprah show. And he travels all over the world, sharing his love for God, his passion for life, and his message of hope.    

Sometimes life gives you a slap on the face, out of love. This was one of them.

Yellow ribbons

Speaking of hope, I can see yellow ribbons on trees all over my city. It’s for Cory Aquino, who’s battling cancer, and it reminds me of when Ninoy was coming home. I was 6, I think, and I saw my mother cry as we watched it on the news. It’s poignant now that yellow ribbons could be ushering Tita Cory home—to whichever home: with her family and the people who do not lose hope in praying for her recovery or with her martyred husband, who gave a country in despair much-needed hope.

It’s also touching to see that the yellow ribbons have reached Twitter, where people can out a yellow ribbon on their avatars to show their support.

This could be Tita Cory’s biggest battle of her life—but consider her track record, what she has fought throughout the years.

There’s hope.

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