Light-hearted but felt-hearted

Light-hearted but felt-hearted


2007

The bilingual stories in Chinese Reader’s Digest are usually my favourite part of the whole book. Despite being only two or three pages in length, every story has something in common: touching and introspective, giving food for thought.



Take Hidden Blessing as an example (December, 2007). Rosemarie Wolmarans, a nursery headmistress, depicts her contemplation behind her decision to accept a handicapped child, who had been rejected by many nursery schools because of his Perthe’s disease, in which his soft joints easily dislocated.



In his treatment, Christos had been wearing plaster casts with rigid a bar for a long period. His movement was restricted and he had to walk with a stiff gait like a robot.



When the headmistress first encountered the disease, she found a big boy sitting on a pushcart wearing splints pushed into her office. But he was going to start primary school the following year. His English was poor and he desperately needed to prepare for his formal education. His mother’s eyes were brimming with tears as this school was his last hope. Rosemarie pondered if the boy would be manageable in this school or, if the boy would cope with the difficulties of fitting in with a normal life with other children – especially when facing teasing. Or easily getting injured with broken legs…”Christos bright brown eyes gazed appealingly at her, silently urging her to ignore his trapped legs and help free his mind.” “If we turned him away as so many others had, what would become of him?”



Rapidly, Rosemarie came to a decision: Christos was given a two-week trial. What a big relief to the mother and the boy!



And the trial turned out to be a magic which changed the boy’s life.



Christos was an ingenious boy with a much more skilful body than expected - he managed to pull himself up the slide and adroitly sailed down to the end; he was excellent in singing and musical games - his clear Italian voice rose above the others; Rosemarie’s worries disappeared quickly when she found Christos was getting popular – the kids liked him and even vied with each other to help him on the swings and with his cart. At the end of the year, Christos had become fluent in English and one of the best in singing.



Soon after the nursery school life, all plasters were removed from Christos’ legs. He had been fully recovered. Unequivocally, Rosemarie was the first person to thank for this. While feeling so pleased when Christos and his mother visited her immediately after being discharged from hospital, Rosemarie was a bit ashamed of herself esp. for her initial reaction to Christos. She said Christos gave her and her school much more than what they had done for him.



‘He taught other children compassion, kindness, patience and love. He showed us how to persevere, how to be brave, happy and how to overcome adversity by a cheerful disposition and a positive attitude.’



Another message I got from this real story is that if we treat people with diseases and disability as you and me, their lives will be completely different. Thinking that there are still so many ‘Christos’ who have been deprived of education because of discrimination and poverty, I can’t help feeling sad but thankful to see Christos’ luck and the much more fruitful, healthy life a school brought to him.



It reminds me of the famous quote of Princess Diana: “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or TB but the feeling of being unwanted”





Another remarkable story that I like so much is ‘Think Small’ (November, 2007), written by a 14-year-old girl.



Patricia at age 9 was a surprisingly blessed girl, understanding, brimful of acting talent. Whenever her father came home from work at night, feeling completely exhausted, she was a bit uneasy. She didn’t like to see her father sitting silently, or being grumpy. Then, she would blab away amusingly in her own language or even follow her father, performing the funny acts she made up herself. She also entertained her father by acting as cartoon characters from Disney movies, making her father cry tears of mirth. At first, she was a bit scared that her father would scold her for her ‘irritation’ and ask her to leave. But her father’s smile relieved her tension, “Whenever you make Mama, Brother and me laugh, you make us feel a lot better and less tire,” he smiled down at her.



She was astonished by her father’s praise and still holds them in her heart.



While many people think BIG and try to make things different, she is thinking of small tricks to change the mood of her family, meanwhile making herself more comfortable. Incredibly, she changed the way they looked at things, changed the way they thought of life.



She realised that her small acts – making people laugh can help release stress and pressure. More magical things can happen if we have a pleasant working environment and pleasant families. People would love their families more and care more about others.



She reminds us that the most important thing we need to have is Family Love and a pleasurable life when coming back from a wearing working day.



Patricia is perfectly right – to make a difference, we don’t need to think BIG all the time. ‘Just drop our ugly frown, put on our best smile, go out into the cold, dark world and spread some light, warmth and love to those who need it.’



Perhaps, just a smiling greeting like ‘hello’ or ‘morning’, tiny help, or starting small talk with your neighbours you’ve never talked to would please and even comfort them unexpectedly. Sadly, this is not commonplace to many of us living in the metropolis, in the densely populated high-rise buildings.