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Area: Nurturing |
Topic:
Random
Acts of Kindness |
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Article : Winning the
Race
10/26/00 (8 min) |
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Underwritten
by ______
(Would you like to have your company,
organization or your name listed here?) |
|
A few words
from Anne:
This story has
been running around the internet for quite a while. Every
time I read it, I am reminded that I make the
choice to make my own life so complicated. If I would just
slow down, I believe I could be much more valuable to those with
whom I work and live.
Please SUBMIT
your favorite story.
10/23/00
It was a very special day for nine contestants, and they had
positioned themselves at the starting line for the 100 yard dash. The
setting was the Seattle Special Olympics. Each of the excited contestants
carried the mark of a physical or mental disability that afternoon as they each
prepared in their own way for the challenge before them.
The crowd hushed in anticipation as the starter asked them to
take their marks. He then fired the gun. The exit from the starting
line was far from being a dash, as each runner attempted to discover his/her own
way of completing the task at hand.
That is, all except one little boy, who had been extremely slow
to start, eventually tripping on the running surface. Face forward he
went tumbling head over heels a couple of times, scraping the skin from his hands
and knees. Of course his immediate response to his awful plight were tears
and loud crying.
The other eight runners heard the crying of their fellow
competitor. They stopped and turned around to discover what had
happened.
Seeing his predicament, they all reversed direction
and went back to him . . . every single one of them.
Reaching him, a young girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed
the little boy, saying, "This will make it feel better".
| Helping up their fallen competitor, all the runners linked
arms and completed the race by walking together to the finish line.
As
they concluded, their faces brandished huge smiles of success, appropriate for
the significance of their accomplishment.
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Then the contestants received a standing ovation from the
crowd, and the cheering went on for many minutes. The people who were
there are still moved to tears when they recall their memories of
that wonderful display of giving and sharing.
This story is an example of
something far more important than winning a race. Deep down we
all know one thing: Life's goal is more than winning for
ourselves. What really matters is helping others win, even if it requires
slowing down and changing our own course.
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this article to a friend!
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here?)
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