One day couple years ago toward the
end of the summer season, when I was stationed in Abilene, I was on my way to
San Antonio, TX, Taking Highway 87 south, I stopped at a store in
Fredericksburg; the name of the store was Auer Haus. I walked in and saw this
beautiful and colorful quilt, as I was admiring the beauty of its many colors
and the wavering patterns that seem to be telling hidden joyful stories, the
store keeper walked up toward my direction and asked if I needed any help. I
expressed how marvelous and stunningly beautiful this quilt that caught my
eyes; my mother had passed but it reminded me of many quilts that she crocheted.
The store keeper said that the quilt maker was blind. How amazing is that the
power of the human imagination, that one’s sense and ability to physically
visualize the physical reality is gone, yet, still have the capacity to
demonstrate the fundamental ability to see and display beauty from within!
Although my mother was not blind but she, like this blind quilt maker, had the
ability to visualize the true beauty from within and not limited to the
physical characteristics of things. Perhaps what is usually considered by society
as limitation is truly a gift. Hence, from that day on… “I declared that My
Limitation is a Source of Strength.”
I got to San Antonio that Monday evening and Monday Night usually means “Monday
Night Football,” at times, despite the violence of the sport and the blood, sweat,
and tears that associated with the, not so obvious, football, the passion of
the game, while in the trenches, often diverted my attention to overlook any
negative associated with the game itself but to experience the game like
millions of red blooded American do throughout this country—simply says: “I
enjoy the game of football.” Here we go again with more football analogy.
On the radio in the car, the discussion focused mainly on what happened during
Sunday's buffet of football games, on the Colin Cowherd sports radio show, he
said something about quarterbacks that is, to me, philosophically
profound for life in general and in particular with anyone with physical
disability. Colin Cowherd said sometimes a person's limitations are directly
related to their success. His comparison was between quarterbacks who are
highly gifted athletes who, in addition to having strong arms and great
knowledge of the game, can effectively run with the ball and quarterbacks who
lack that athletic ability to run. The quarterbacks who lack mobility
have to rely completely on their ability to find open receivers and throw the
ball to them accurately and quickly before the defense can reach them.
Running is not an option.
The point was this: great singers will find a way to sing even if the
moment doesn't call for singing. Great dancer can find occasions to dance, even
without music and gifted athletes find the occasion to exercise their athletic
ability in any given event. However, sometimes the situation doesn't call
for the expression of a particular gift. You see, in football, it is best
if the quarterback can get the ball into someone else's hands rather than
taking it himself. But for the quarterback who is a gifted runner--they
find occasions to run, sometimes to the detriment of their team and other times
to the detriment of their health—RGIII.
I hope you still with me here: let’s use this framework, Cowherd went onto name
quarterbacks who more or less lack the athletic ability to run the ball themselves—Peyton
Manning, Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Drew Breeze, should I
continue? The truth is, you probably heard of these names before but if
you know football, you will recognize those names as five of the most
successful quarterbacks in modern football and one thing they all have in common;
they all won Super Bowl’s. Therefore, I can argue that their lack of the
ability to run actually helps them make better decisions because running the
ball is not an option—let just say running the ball is their weaknesses.
Here is my question for you? Can you imagine if we stopped seeing our limitations
as barriers, instead see them as the very energy that directs us into using our
true abilities to accomplish our TRUE Greatness! Each one of us is
equipped with unique talents and abilities, which means even our weaknesses,
are source of our strengths. Here is our challenge: identify your weakness and
build on that very source to gain your GREATNESS. Should you have any question?
Ask the Blind Quilt maker of Auer Haus. I wonder if that quilt would have
captured the same magnificence beauty if she was NOT blind. Yes, our Limitation
is the very source of our Strength.
