Life lesson by A Lamb
By: Priyanshu Rani
Tags: Life Lessons, Motivation, Friendship, Life, Disability

The actual pain or inconvenience caused by a physical impairment is often much less than the sense of alienation felt by the person with disabilities.

It is indeed true that a physically impaired suffers the pain of isolation more than the pain caused by his/her disability. The society, perhaps unknowingly , causes this sense of alienation. We pity the disabled. We may even make a show of respect for them. But we are not ready to have them for friends.

This is what I am going to tell you through a short story — “ A lamb restored Jack’s confidence”.

On the sky-piercing hills of Shimla, there was an old woman Ms. Serry. She was alone and has her own farmland. Sound of bird song and of tree leaves rustling add beauty to the farmland. One day a young boy Jack entered in the farmland by hiding himself from others as he thought that was an empty place. He did not know there was anybody here. Ms. Serry asked him not to be afraid. Jack then said that people are afraid of him. He asked Ms. Serrry to look at him and after seeing his face she might think that he is the most frightful and ugliest thing. He said that he got acid all down that side of his face and it burned it all away . He said when he looks in the mirror and sees his face, he is afraid of it. Ms. Serry said that the whole of his face is not frightening. She told him that she has lost her leg in an accident and got a tin leg. Children made fun of her tin leg but she never disappointed.

There is no difference between the two of them . They are same just like the trees or herbs and the weeds grows. She does not understand why a green-growing plant is called weeds and another flower. She explained Jack that all the things are relative even The Beauty and The Beast.

Jack replied that he knows this fairy story because he have been told this earlier that ‘It’s not what you look like, It’s what you are inside.

Handsome is as handsome does and that’s why even beauty loved the monstrous beast for himself and when she kissed him he changed to handsome prince but he won’t change because nobody will ever kiss his face except his mother and that too she kisses on the other side of his face and he completely dislikes this because she does this out of responsibility and not because she actually feels like doing it. Ms. Serry and Jack have a long conversation where they talk that bees don’t buzz as people say instead they hum and hum means ‘sing’ if you listen to them carefully. She revives the almost dead feelings of Jack towards life. She motivates him to think positively about life , changes his mindset about people and things. She explained him that the acid had only burnt his face just like accident caught her leg but more than that there are worse things that can happen and that he can burn himself from the inside if he has this attitude towards his life. He shared that someone suggested that he should be left with others like himself for his betterment. He found the people running away from his presence and this gave him immense mental anguish. His chance meeting with Ms. Serry , a disabled woman, restored his confidence.

Ms. Serry was the first person in Jack’s life who had stirred his thinking. For the first time Jack was confident enough to face the world with his burnt face. Earlier, the people had only sympathy with him. Their sympathy had made him feel that he was the most unfortunate person. He was convinced that nobody would like to associate with him. Ms. Serry made him felt that a burnt face did not matter and that he could make his place in the world like any other human being. Above all, Jack saw that Ms. Serry herself needed his help. He felt he could be useful. So he was drawn towards Ms.Serry and lived with her in her farmland.

Both of them became good friends. In spite of all Ms. Serry wisdom, Jack was able to see that he was alienated as Jack himself.

A disabled person needs friends, even more than a normal man does. He expects from the others to be treated on equal footing. It is not so much kindness as the companionship that a disabled person needs.