Last Thursday was my eldest daughter, Nadine, graduation ceremony at AUC. A very proud and sentimental moment for every parent. And very proud and sentimental I was!!
Towards the end of the ceremony a graduate who is blind (visually impaired to be politically correct) was called to receive his certificate. He took his steps quite confidently and with almost no help from the companion to his side. His very sure steps got me thinking:
1. How sore or bitter could this young man be for not being complete?
2. How much faith did he have to use to get to where he is?
3. How many obstacles did he overcome during his path in a world not designed for him but rather for those who can see?
*(Imagine for a moment what he went through till he graduated!!!)
Without further analysis it is obvious that the likes of this young gentleman have a lot of faith and a lot of strength to overcome their handicaps. And it goes without saying that we can only but admire the likes of him. But then I thought we do applaud them but then very quickly set them aside in the rhetoric or keep them at bay as iconic or for reference. We don't really model around them but rather conveniently retrieve them from memory when we wish and need to sound wise.
The blind graduate studied and graduated as a political science major; so I envisioned how would he analyze where we are now or how he would look at what is happening in Egypt today since he has the degree to provide insight. I took note that his vision would have to be subjective and related to his personal experiences and challenges. Here is how I think he would envisage things:
1. Yes we have major obstacles and challenges ahead. Not a smooth ride for sure
2. And yes we are not totally equipped to address all the challenges that may impede us
3. However others with similar detterants managed to overcome the hurdles and they are now where we wish to be
So how would he go about it:
I think that he would first be relieved that there is a high level of awareness and thus a subsequent debate of the shortcomings and the obstacles. This is definitely a recipe for more faith that things cannot be worse but that we can only move forward coupled with a will of not to return to what we revolted against
He would agree we are not totally equipped for what is to come but would see it as only normal given the long time we have been living in the dark. The sudden light and its glare are causing a lot of us to feel that we cannot see or rather temporarily visually impaired. But take a short breath and you will find that we all have similar if not identical aspirations going forward: a strong Egypt. Now we may be in limbo regarding which route to take but we have a whole nation that is in motion and actively engaged in forging the future (whole for the skeptical ones is meant to signify a whole lot of us).
He would also cite the icing on the cake being that others got to where we wish to be. How many of us now know the success stories of Turkey,Indonesia & Brazil among others. They had no hopes nor aspirations some years ago (a few years ago in the lengthy chronology of humans); so why are we looking down on ourselves with fear of being inapt to reach their feats? Why are we denying ourselves the right to dream of greatness? Why are we underestimating ourselves and our capabilities?
We have an advantage over the blind graduate; we can see the light. He, however, has a major advantage over all of us: he reached the light without seeing it !!!!
Consider this: let's be blinded with vision!!
Towards the end of the ceremony a graduate who is blind (visually impaired to be politically correct) was called to receive his certificate. He took his steps quite confidently and with almost no help from the companion to his side. His very sure steps got me thinking:
1. How sore or bitter could this young man be for not being complete?
2. How much faith did he have to use to get to where he is?
3. How many obstacles did he overcome during his path in a world not designed for him but rather for those who can see?
*(Imagine for a moment what he went through till he graduated!!!)
Without further analysis it is obvious that the likes of this young gentleman have a lot of faith and a lot of strength to overcome their handicaps. And it goes without saying that we can only but admire the likes of him. But then I thought we do applaud them but then very quickly set them aside in the rhetoric or keep them at bay as iconic or for reference. We don't really model around them but rather conveniently retrieve them from memory when we wish and need to sound wise.
The blind graduate studied and graduated as a political science major; so I envisioned how would he analyze where we are now or how he would look at what is happening in Egypt today since he has the degree to provide insight. I took note that his vision would have to be subjective and related to his personal experiences and challenges. Here is how I think he would envisage things:
1. Yes we have major obstacles and challenges ahead. Not a smooth ride for sure
2. And yes we are not totally equipped to address all the challenges that may impede us
3. However others with similar detterants managed to overcome the hurdles and they are now where we wish to be
So how would he go about it:
I think that he would first be relieved that there is a high level of awareness and thus a subsequent debate of the shortcomings and the obstacles. This is definitely a recipe for more faith that things cannot be worse but that we can only move forward coupled with a will of not to return to what we revolted against
He would agree we are not totally equipped for what is to come but would see it as only normal given the long time we have been living in the dark. The sudden light and its glare are causing a lot of us to feel that we cannot see or rather temporarily visually impaired. But take a short breath and you will find that we all have similar if not identical aspirations going forward: a strong Egypt. Now we may be in limbo regarding which route to take but we have a whole nation that is in motion and actively engaged in forging the future (whole for the skeptical ones is meant to signify a whole lot of us).
He would also cite the icing on the cake being that others got to where we wish to be. How many of us now know the success stories of Turkey,Indonesia & Brazil among others. They had no hopes nor aspirations some years ago (a few years ago in the lengthy chronology of humans); so why are we looking down on ourselves with fear of being inapt to reach their feats? Why are we denying ourselves the right to dream of greatness? Why are we underestimating ourselves and our capabilities?
We have an advantage over the blind graduate; we can see the light. He, however, has a major advantage over all of us: he reached the light without seeing it !!!!
Consider this: let's be blinded with vision!!
