Life’s Best Gifts are Within Us

Whether we are rich or poor, our greatest gifts in this world may perhaps be our basic physical senses – our ability to smell, hear, see, taste, and touch – the lack or the loss of any of which could compromise the quality of our lives in unimaginable ways.

For those lucky enough to be born healthy, we become aware of our given abilities the very minute we come into this world when we hear our own cries and feel our loved ones’ touches for the very first time. From then on, we gradually learn to rely on them not only to form a perception of ourselves, but to understand and maneuver in our physical and social worlds.

Those born with challenges learn to cope with everyday life in unique ways others might be unable to fathom. They are brave souls who fight to achieve happy and fulfilling lives in spite of their difficulties and obstacles. They are my heroes, and in some way, I can also empathize with them.

I was born a healthy child but for the first two years of my life, my mother had to leave me in a crib during the day all by myself. She had to go to work and earn enough so that we wouldn’t starve to death. I can only imagine how I lay there for so many long hours without being touched or heard, while my eyes stared at the same wooden ceiling above me.

I had a tough start in life because I was born during the Great Chinese Famine, one of the worst natural disasters in the world. My family and I were lucky enough to have survived it. The deprivations of my early days propelled me to do more to stimulate my senses later on in life – to read an extra book, to learn another language, to be the first one in my family to attend college, and to come to America all by myself with nothing more than two suitcases.

The more we read, see, learn, feel, and embrace, the bigger and more meaningful our world is to us. Similarly, the less we exercise our abilities, the duller our senses become. The worst thing is when we whine and complain about not having understanding parents, rich uncles, or influential friends to support and back us up when all along, we have been empowered with all the tools we need to succeed in life. Use them.

Reflections From The East Column

By Qin Sun Stubis

You can always reach me at qstubis@gmail.com, or please visit me at QinSunStubis.com. You can find a copy of my book, Once Our Lives, online at Amazon.com