Today I bring to you this gem:

What an amazing guy! Hats off to the guy’s spirit and will! What a fighter! Just imagine the determination, the practice, the skill it must take to do what this guy does, given his situation. Wow!

I wonder what drove him to decide to make these clay sculptures that require such deft touch, despite his disability. Did he always make these figurines, before he met with an accident apparently? Or did he choose to make them after, to take this up as a challenge, to prove to himself (and to others maybe) that he wouldn’t let his disability stand in the way, that he’ll overcome it?

If he used to make the figurines before, think about what he must’ve gone through to have that craft taken away from him, and to re-learn it under the new circumstances. The other option isn’t any easier either – to take up this craft for the first time, without any background knowledge of tips and tricks on how to go about this process.

How many days, months, years even, would he have practiced for, to be able to reach a stage where he can create these beautiful art pieces in a matter of minutes. Most of us, with two fully functional hands, will probably give up long before we reach that level of expertise. How many times did he contemplate giving up? Or, did he, even?

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Many of us, myself included, lead a very privileged life. We have enough food, a place where we can lie down at night, good clothes to wear. We have friends and family who love us. Above all, we are mentally and physically healthy. Sometimes, we tend to take these gifts for granted.

For us, for people who don’t have to fight for things on a daily basis, even the little upsets of life can seem overwhelming. One little hiccup, and we think all is lost; it’s the end of the world.

That is why I find his story very inspiring. It reminds me of the power of the human spirit, that never-say-die attitude, that no matter what life throws at you, you can overcome it – you just need to have the heart for it; if you have the four Ps – patience, practice, perseverance, prayer.

Patience – To understand that although “accidents” may happen suddenly, recovering from them will take time. You can do all you can, but time is what actually heals.

Practice – To find that one thing that you want to do, and to keep doing it, over and over again. This is needed for distraction and for keeping the belief alive that you can still do what it was that you wanted to do before the “accident”.

Perseverance – There will be moments of despair; there will be falls. But you have to pick yourself up. Repeatedly. When faced with an unavoidable problem, we have only two options – either let the problem drown us, or fight our way through it.

Prayer – I’m not referring to “prayer” in a religious context, but in a spiritual one – qualities like hope, faith, belief. Yes, something terrible happened, it’s true. But I can’t get over it, if I can’t look beyond it. And for that, I need “light” to see the possibility of a path beyond.

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I think there’s a lot that we can learn from this guy. If you agree, please, do share this guy’s story around. Apart from just the monetary value of his craft, I think, this would also constitute a remuneration of sorts for his efforts.

BTW, does anyone know his name, or how to get in touch with him? I’d very much appreciate it if anyone with any information can share the same with me.

And before I end, here are a couple more videos of him:

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