swimming to greece

a week ago i received the most amazing news. my cousin mikey has been chosen as one of the athletes competing in the 2011 Special Olympics in Athens, Greece.

you see mikey, 18 years old, has been diagnosed with autism when he was a little kid. i remember how the family, especially my uncle mike & auntie pam, worried about him growing up. then from a distance (they live in the united states, while we're continents away here in the philippines) we saw how he started to make friends, grew a liking for chicken, how he uncannily remembered everyone's birthdays.... we saw how he managed in his own special way. and when they moved from new york to florida, we remembered how he quickly & enthusiastically took to the water. i remember stories of him staying for hours in their pool every single day & when he was big enough, the ocean became his playground.

an excerpt from a st. petersburg times article

It was kind of a miracle — an awakening.

The kid who used to while away time flushing the toilet just to watch the water spin or setting up chairs in a straight line had finally found another interest. The kid who used to bite and kick and scratch because he couldn't express himself verbally, who had been through countless therapy sessions to help him find his voice, was now pleading with his dad to take him to Clearwater Beach. There the two would spend hours in the water; father coaching son, teaching him the freestyle, the backstroke, the breaststroke and racing with him until son was soon leaving father in his wake.

"He never wants to leave," said Mike Tuason, 50, of their daily visits to the beach. "Sometimes we stay till 10, 10:30 at night just lying in the sand watching the stars."

here's the full article by the times

true enough whenever they'd come over for a visit, mikey would swim like a fish in our warm seas. now my cousin is an olympian - how cool is that? this news warms my heart in ways that i can never explain in words. mikey is an inspiration. his story is a great testament to the wonders of following your enthusiasm, of not knowing fear and therefore finding your bliss.

the world summer olympics in athens is a year away but mikey has already won a far bigger game.

thank you katrina for these adorable tape strips!

faith

there is much to heal in this world. for every wound that refuses to heal. for every angel that falls from the sky. for every hurt that hides beneath fragile wings. there is much to heal.

and so we turn to those we love and wonder, how can i make them see? how can i help them get through the pain, mend the hearts which were shattered into a thousand little pieces? how can i make them see life is still worth living?

i sit with myself and the words of someone very spiritual echo in my mind. i cannot heal in others what is wounded in me.

i sit with myself and find faith. faith that can see. it is the candle that glows in the dark. it is faith that tells me there is no need to suffer inspite of the pain, no need to lose myself when sorrow comes my way. that which tells me to be brave so i can inspire others to do the same. i can heal myself. it is faith that tells me impossible is nothing.

i sit with myself and know. that inspite of all the hurt and sadness that creep their way in, life remains beautiful. because i let it.