Forty two, Forty three, Forty four… I ran
out of breath and pulled my head out of the swimming pool with a heavily splash
of water. My “Holding your breath inside the water” session just ended and I
was ready for my next level swimming that evening.
This incidence occurred on one frigid
winter evening when I was at my club’s indoor heated swimming pool. After the
breathing exercise, I started swimming and stroking through the blissful blue
water. Just reaching halfway to my second lap, I saw a hapless father along
with his ailing son, entered the enormous main door of the swimming pool hall. He
was pushing his son’s wheelchair to make a way to the pool. The son appeared in
his early teenage and physically and mentally challenged.
“Probably
the victim of Autism” I guessed.
All covered in a thick woolen blanket,
the boy seemed to be suffering from the squint too, which is also known as
cross-eyes, where the person is unable to orient both eyes on the same object
at the same time. Almost quarter part of his face was covered with saliva,
coming out of his mouth. He looked a bit unconscious too. And god knows what
other mental battles he was going through, from within. The father looked very
caring though, after all he was “The Father”.
To my surprise, the boy was here for
swimming. Unbelievable. A boy, who has troubles even with simplest life things
like focusing, walking and understanding, was here. Actually. For swimming! The
dad unwrapped the boy from blanket and started helping him up from the chair. A
lifeguard, from the other side of the pool, rushed to the wheel chair to help
the father and the kid. They both supported the boy lift himself up and lowered
him in to the pool. And guess what? The boy started swimming. He was actually
swimming! I could not believe my eyes. The challenged boy forgot all his
troubles and his imprudence. His body movements were not so flawless,
obviously, but still, he was swimming.
I could not help myself but ask one of
the lifeguards about what this was all about. She informed me that this family
comes here for a few years now.
“This is nature” She told me. “Water is
very supportive in such cases. Nature adopts us when we are in need. This is
called “Aquatic Therapy” or “Swim Therapy”. I have seen even infants swim
flawlessly in their first attempt. The nature does wonders sometimes. Doesn’t
it?”
Her adequate explanation and the entire
scene made me thinking, of two things. First thing, how incredible the nature
could be. But most importantly, Second thing. About rest of the people in the
swimming pool. They were so welcoming to the autist boy. I observed that, they
were looking at the boy with affectionate eyes with warmth inside their hearts.
I could observe that they could feel the boy’s situation and shown their
extended support to cheer the boy up. Then I looked around the whole giant
swimming pool room. I could see people from at least 20 different countries. Of
all sizes, shapes, appearance, colors and ethnicities.
This got me thinking of even stronger point,
how welcoming this place is! The swimming pool. Never thought about it before. How
conveniently people associate with each other regardless of their skin or hair
color, their mental and physical conditions, their ethnicity. Sometimes you
see people sneezing, spitting and cleaning up the throat, nose, ears, and mouth
and trash their wastes inside the pool. Sounds disgusting in my words here, but
at pool no body minds it. With open hearts, they accept it and keep doing what they
have been doing.
Probably, they say to their selves, inside
their minds “its ok, Johnny. It happens. This is a swimming pool. You get all
kinds of people here.” And then carry on.
This boggles my mind with the thought
that “Why can’t this whole earth be like a swimming pool. Be friendly to all
kinds of people. Be respectful to the needs of all the people. Be welcoming to
the different cultures and ethnicity. Regardless of religion, regardless of gender, regardless of hair and skin color. Where, no one is bothered by the other
one doing or practicing his beliefs, faiths, and needs, just like they did not
mind the boy entering the pool with his saliva-mouth. Where, people rush for help
and extend their hands to the needy, like that lifeguard did. I am looking for
those affectionate eyes that embrace the unfortunate ones around the world. I
am searching for the warm hearts who are receptive of everyone’s equal
existence on this tiny earth.
Yes, Tiny Earth. I was watching a video
the other day that showed how negligible the earth’s size is compared to the
huge-wide universe and its humungous planets. We are like a sesame seed lost in
the enormous farm. Our existence is so little that it could be easily
overlooked. And look at us. We are busy fighting with the issues created by us,
the mortals of the planet called “Earth”.
In past, there was a time when people did
not leave their villages, their towns and their countries. They did not move.
They did not go to remote locations. But now the time has changed. Now global
movements and expatriates are at its all-time high. We are truly becoming
global citizens. We cannot afford to have our ancient beliefs about
discriminations.
Diversity is the distinct backgrounds, cultures,
characteristics, and experiences that each person brings to this world. This
includes a wide spectrum of attributes such as color, race, gender, sexual
orientation, age, caste, disability, and ethnicity or religious beliefs. Let’s
be Inclusive to everyone to make this earth a place that values differences and
enables people to reach their full potential in pursuit of the life purpose. A
place where people feel involved, respected and connected. A place where their
perspectives are sought after and leveraged, and they are included in formal
and informal networks. Let’s respect everyone and demonstrate this through
actions and words. Let’s be aware of how our actions might offend others. Let’s
be honest and open and don’t rely on first perceptions. Let’s never judge
others’ journey just by their appearance. Let’s demonstrate appreciations.
Let’s foster a spirit of co-operation and respect the uniqueness of each
individual.
Considering that, I ask myself. How hard
it is to accept the person or community the way it is? Why we need to create
unnecessary conflicts? Why cannot the communities, the countries and the world
run smoothly?
And I am still asking. I am still looking
for that perfect world. I am still searching for that “Swimming Pool”.
