I went swimming in the nearby pool last Friday. As I was taking a break after swimming a few laps, some swimmers from the other side of the pool were gazing at me, I just thought. Wrong. Their eyes were not upon me; they were gazing at this tall, blue-eyed, white as a sheet, preggy woman. As I turned my head towards her, we smiled at each other. I tried not to stare at her because I’ve been taught that it’s impolite. But curiosity forced me to steal a second look at what should not be but is, what you are not.
When she plunged into the water, I was amazed by her speed and graceful aquatic moves as she tracked the pool lane. Boy! How I admired her knack with water. She swam the pool exceptionally well. I could tell by her silicone flag swim cap and by her swimming skills that she was a big shot swimmer. While she was cooling down by the poolside, with all guts, I candidly complimented “You’re such a good swimmer.” She just smiled at me and said that she lost her right arm in an accident. I was right; she was a competent swimmer and still is! She told me a bit of her story of her own accord. She wowed me by the things she shared. She, despite having just one arm, didn’t let the injury stop her from swimming. It’s one of her passions and she never gets tired of it. What’s more, she still does pretty much whatever else she decides she wants to do.
I am always inspired by stories like hers and use them to stay motivated with my own fitness goals. Whenever my body aches from gym-ing, I am grateful that I have the complete pack of it- from head to toe. When my legs hurt due to vein/muscle cramps, I just think that I can still walk and jog because I have both of them. Whenever I see my hands with lots of cat’s bites and scratches that left scars on my skin, I just think about how lucky I am to be able to grumble about having two arms and two hands.
There are a lot of things we can learn from people who got disabled from a terrible accident or misfortune. I’ve learned with disability in a situation there is ability. Meeting the one-armed swimmer in the pool is a short-time encounter but I will always cherish it. She’s one of the disabled people I’ve known who have a will and determination that put a lot of us to shame. Instead of dwelling on their conditions and feeling sorry for themselves, they’re out achieving their goals proving that just because they’re disabled, it doesn’t mean they can’t play a part and make a difference. Essentially, they are no different than anyone else. So next time we don’t wanna do something because we are crippled perceptually and emotionally by our painful or awful experiences, think about the handicapped and the disabled whose strengths are great enough to withstand the hard- hitting winds because they have the power to bend but not break.
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