I was sitting here with thoughts of yesterday flowing through my head. There were many incidents about people or stories that were told, got me thinking but one that struck the cord louder than most was a mother and her autistic child.

In my writing class, a mother brought her autistic child to class. He looked about 20 but demeanor no more than 10. She shared with us her reason for attending the class – to write a book about her life with her son and the struggles she faced. She hoped that one day, she would be able to record all of this down in a book to share with the world.

I thought that was brave, very brave! Yesterday, as usual, we were asked to write practice pieces in class. The mother wrote about her memory of being at the neurologist office when her son was being diagnosed with autism at 3 years old. She shared about how insensitive the neurologist was to her and the situation and referred them to someone else who was no better. At the end of the day, our course instructer remarked that it must’ve been painful to relive those moments and worst to write it down. Surprisingly, the mother said that “It was painful…very painful in fact in the beginning but it’s now passed and she’s moved on beyond that“.

Silently, I was in awe and full of admiration for the mother. First of all, not only was she brave to bring her son along because I know many people would fold under shame. And some would just refuse to acknowledge their child’s condition. But not only has she accepted him, she’s proud to show him off to the world.

Secondly, she has put the past behind and now has emerge victorious in that she’s able to talk about it and open up. I think, if it was me, I’m not sure if I can ever ever speak of something that is so painful no matter how long it takes. Well, probably I would talk about it with my family but never in public and with strangers. And even with friends, it’s never easy.

Sometimes, or most of the time, the human strength is really something to marvel at, isn’t it? I mean, we always quit before we’ve begun. Stop before we’ve even started. Crumble even before knowing that things aren’t as bad as it seemed. We can truly triumph in any situation. We can emerge victorious even when the odds are stacked against us. All it takes is a way to overcome our fears and we will be set free. Nothing is ever impossible, just our belief.