Hellen Keller : A world beyond limitations....

Hellen Keller : A world beyond limitations.....

Two hands and legs, eyes and ears, a nose and a mouth and our brain, we take these for granted. Many times those of us who are blessed with all these are not even aware of the limitations their absence can cause.
Indeed a person with physical or mental disabilities maybe restrained yet that does deprive him or her of his right to participate equally. Neither does it mean that such persons are unable to meet success. History is replete with instances of achievements by persons with different kinds of disabilities. All of us have heard of Hellen Keller, 27 June, Hellen Keller Day commemorates the life and achievements of Helen Keller and also celebrates human resilience and achievement. It is a day which recognizes the struggles and hardships faced by those with disabilities so that we can have sensitivity towards them. 
Helen Keller was not born blind but lost her vision and ability to hear due to an illness. She lived in despair till Ms. Anne Sullivan, her teacher and trainer entered her life. Her initial days of learning were full of struggle. It was the cool and soothing touch of water which enabled her to understand and fathom the word, 'water'. There was no looking back after that. Such was the dedication of Ms. Anne Sullivan that Hellen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor’s degree in the United States of America.
Sheer grit and determination enabled her to transform into a prominent personality, a well-known writer, an orator, a human rights advocate, a political and social activist. Most importantly she was a pioneer for those battling with disabilities in their lives. By her own example she proved that with self will and determination, one can overcome any limitation in life.  

Her story gives hope and is a source of inspiration and encouragement to those who have to face untold hardships by birth or due to some unfortunate incident in their lives. It demonstrates that with self commitment and dedication one can achieve anything and everything.
Positivity radiated from the life of Helen Keller. 
She stood by the fact that character could be strengthened through experience of trial and suffering.  She believed that unless we were dedicated to our work and derived happiness out of it we would be a menace to our profession as well as to ourselves.

Adding a ray of hope to everyone's life she said one should not be disappointed by failures because when one door closes, another opens. However often we look regretfully upon the closed door ignoring the one that has opened for us.
To her, social justice depended upon the great mass of the people because only their sense of responsibility would enable each other's welfare. She also said that one can attain happiness only by brightening lives of others. Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through dedication and commitment towards a worthy purpose.

Our success and happiness lies in us. If we resolve to be happy and remain joyful conquering all our difficulties would be much more easy. 
To her, education was not blind learning but a medium to train the child to use his brains, to make a place for himself in the world and maintain his rights even when society seemed to be shoving him into the scrap-heap.
She was appalled by the fact that millions were spent on war and war engines than on the entire public school system. And to her, a teacher was someone who breathes life into knowledge so that it takes new form in progress and civilization.
She had her moments of fame in Hollywood too when she was honoiured with the Academy Award for “Helen Keller in Her Story,” a 1955 documentary film about her life. Time magazine had listed her as one among the 100 most important figures of the 20th century in 1999.
When we hear the word ‘disabled,’ we inadvertently think about people who can’t walk or talk, see or hear or do anything which "normal" people take for granted. Hellen Keller was a towering personality who not only proved this wrong. She is a source of inspiration not only to persons with disabilities but  to millions of other people. What touches me most is her positivity and simple approach to life.

Honestly real disability exists among  those  who drown in self-pity, prrocrastinate and by being bitter are unable to find joys in life. Most of us would never know what it feels to be differently abled.  Yet all of us can imbibe the positive thoughts of Hellen Keller and look at life afresh. That would be a beffiting tribute to her and to humanity.....