today and always i am a server

"How far you go in life depends on

your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged,

sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak & strong.

Because someday in life you will have been all of these."

-George Washington Carver

"May I be medicine for the sick and weary.

May I be their doctor and their nurse until the sickness appears no more.

May I quell the pains of hunger and thirst with rains of food and drink.

May I be a torch for those in need of light, a bed for those in need of a bed,

and a servant for those in need of service."

-Shantideva

"You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments that stand out

are the moments when you have done things for others."

-Henry Drummond

"Love is the best friend of humankind,

the helper and the healer of all ills that stand in the way of human happiness."

-Plato

This past week I have been moved by a tremendous amount of things.

Some good, some bad, but all part of the game of life.

The good, though, has been to see the smiling faces of all the children I am around

throughout my coursework.  The children that are typically developing as well as those children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, and those that have suffered traumatic brain injuries. I wish I could express the JOY they bring me.

It's indescribable the amount of love that can pour in and out of a classroom when you see it from somewhere that is geared toward hope, awareness, and service for these children.

To have a four year-old little girl in pigtails and a pink, hand-smocked dress climb into your lap and twirl your hair everyday is a feeling unlike any I have ever experienced.

Her almond eyes melt my heart and her little hands, with their simian crease that her extra chromosome caused, are always so gentle and loving. It is no wonder that she pours out her love for me, she is surrounded by love at home, school, and with friends.

That is why I have a hard time understanding why people refuse to serve, love, and - sadly enough - even treat equally, our neighbors with disabilities.

Hard-headed politicians look for all the answers to the world in foreign policy, immigration laws, and taxation practices but they never think that maybe it will all fall into place once we implement the golden rule into our societies:

treat others as you would want to be treated

because if ever one of my friends calls out to me for help, I want to touch their heart like my friend, the little girl with Down syndrome, has touched mine

"miss baily, if the fire still has all of your stuff, you can borrow my things"

I just smiled and tears ran down my face.

How could one not love a life like that? Much less, how could one not think a life

like that is deserving of being in this world?

We spend much of our lives focusing on people and relationships and friendships that end up amounting to nothing in a time of need. But yet, we ignore those indifferent from us because we are unaware of what really makes a child with special needs special! 

Just because God created an individual with an extra 21st chromosome and a predisposed development that is slower and less autonomous than his or her peer, does not mean He didn't bless that child with the same amount of love He did us.

Quite more, actually.

That's what makes children like that so sPeCiaL - the enormous amount of God's love that she expressed to me in a way that holds much more weight than someone sending a text message saying 'I'm here for you' which turns out to be a lie in the end.

So maybe that's why I feel inclined to raise the awareness of Down syndrome/trisomy-21.

Amongst other things, we should all be aware of the blessings that come from being unignorant, inclusive, and non-prejudice. More generally so is that God teaches us to love all of His wonderful creations and to find the richest fulfillment in life is to see the beauty in all things.

And trust me, if the big, compassionate eyes weren't beautiful enough, and if the simian-creased hands weren't God's own 'artist mark', then the beautiful soul that spoke out of her need to be of service to others, is very much so a sense of fulfillment that I look forward to go out an seek on my future endeavors.

I'm glad that many years ago, I was made

AwArE

of these exceptional lives and the goodness of their mere being.

peace&love

baily