Know your special friend

That day I ran into this dark burly guy while coming out of the wash room. "Sorry.I am very sorry" he said. "It's OK". I retorted back. Nothing unusual.
A few days later; "How was your weekend?", I turned back. The same dark, burly guy. I replied " great " added "I went home". "Oh thats really great" - he smiled. I did not know him, not even his name, but still nothing unusual.
I saw him sitting at his desk with a very expensive looking headphone attached to his head, looking intently at his computer. He had a very stylish keyboard. Nothing unusual here too.
I met him once again on our way back. Then it all flashed back - the bumping at the wash room, query about my weekend , his sitting with headphone attached all the time.
We had the usual round of introductions and office talks for sometime. Then the customary round of silence and searching for the next common topic to discuss.
I got some time to think.
So this guy is doing all that I am doing, all the interactions with the clients, all the report making, all the recommendations, all that all the people in the Organization are doing. He is a consultant, a senior one that too.
Then I remembered the words of Diana-a friend working for a wonderful cause in a wonderful way. " We are going to see tremendous possibilities for the special kids(with different physical and mental abilities). They are going to sit besides us, work with us, study with us, play with us, dance with us, sing with us, smile with us, cry with us, feel the same angst that we feel, the same despair, the same frustration, the same feeling of love, of hearts overflowing with a desire to give, to share, to be together (may not be exact words but same feeling for sure)."
for more details about Diana and Chrysallis performance center for the challenged see My interests section in this Blog.
But what is this green-miasma in front of my eyes. Jealousy! - Yes I could see him . Tempting me, laughing at me, teasing me. "He is challenged yet he can do all that you can. He is getting all the respect and definitely some more sympathy than you get. Maybe he is getting paid as much. He is BLIND, you are NOT.But..."
I paused for a moment, thought over it and shot back."I am not?? Am I not blind to the possibility that he has a beautiful mind, a working brain, a perfect soul just like me. Am I not blind to the fact that he is capable of and may be delivering much more than I am. Am I not blind to the fact that his perception world may be much more beautiful than what I perceive." The demon unwelcome, went away. He will hunt some one else now.
This is the thing we have to fight against. We have to keep our guard against constantly. This feeling. This demon and its aides (indifference, disgust, repulsion) we have to kill. He has managed to keep our special friend away from all of us. He has managed to put them in special schools, in some far-away hospitals, in rehab centers away from our love, friendship and humanity. He has deprived us of the tales of hope, the testimonies of mental strength, of resilience, stories of courage, of an undaunted spirit, that these very special people have to share with us.
Special - Yes they are. They still manage to hang on and still manage to carry on this journey of life without what we usually (but very funnily) call 'normal'. I can not say much. THINK yourself. What is normal, Who is normal anyway?