Zest for life

A quick grab of the water bottle, a natural twist of the cap and ice cold water going down my throat was such a pleasure especially in between runs. And today, the same old bottle, the very same cap and the same me-- but the way I felt when I gulped that sip of water this morning during my workout was way different than yesterday, last month or 6 months ago. For some strange reason I felt thankful...

A bunch of people came in through the double doors at about half past 9. Some of them were physically challenged in some way or the other, while most of them were afflicted with down syndrome.  Youth was at its best and in particular there was this young boy, probably the youngest of the lot who was in a wheelchair as well. All of them were dressed in gym clothes, nice and fresh and so excited that it showed on their faces.

There are so many things that we take granted for in life. Talking, touching, waking up, able to brush our teeth on our own and many trivial actions which happen on a day to day basis. The first realization of this hit me was a couple of months after my son was born. A simple task as holding a cloth in your hand-- so easy for an adult was way too difficult for a baby and I watched with amazement as he mastered it with the cloth, ball, spoon & paper in tow. And, this morning I was amazed at just how much zest these people had for life. They were there at the gym trying out each and every possibility and more importantly, were having fun. 

Bless this country  for making living as friendly/easy as possible for physically challenged souls. I did feel really bad when I thought about how India still having to go a long way in making it accessible to physically challenged people. A person I know who's physically challenged still is not able to go to movies back home since it's not disabled friendly. 

My 4 miles was up and on my way out, I saw the youngest of the lot propped on the rowing machine. He was rowing with his hands while his coach/trainer helped him move his legs with her hands. The little fella was grinning from ear to ear, smiling away to glory. I stepped out into the morning sunshine. It wasn't until I saw myself in the rear view mirror did I realize that I too was grinning like a jackass, and actually had been for quite a while.