February 02, 2009 Michael AugustineLisez en Francais
If ever you want to see what it’s like to live a life with nothing but the clear, unwavering belief that anything is possible, then watch a child. We tend to ignore children as being incapable of understanding how the world REALLY works. We tell ourselves that they are not ready to shoulder the burdens of society - to make any real impact. We could never be more wrong!
I absolutely love all aspects of volunteering, but I have a special place in my heart for the
MS Read-A-Thon, one of Canada’s longest running charitable endeavours geared solely towards children. I just finished a two week stint as a guest presenter to school kids across the western portion of the Greater Toronto Area. Throughout the school year, presenters, sometimes accompanied by an individual with multiple sclerosis, visit primary students all across the country, encouraging them to become literate and well-read young people, while simultaneously giving them an opportunity to really change the world. And the best part of the whole experience is that, while they are making all this change happen, they get to have fun doing it.
You’ve never really known the definition of either inspiration OR motivation until you’ve spoken to these amazing kids, and watched their faces as you explain to them that they are truly important to the world; that they have the power to single-handed affect the lives of between 55,000 to 75,000 Canadians - just by reading a few minutes a day.
It’s an experience that is more than simply motivating... it’s absolutely life-affirming!
As we get older, we forget all about our hopes and dreams. We forget that we once wanted to be doctors, or astronauts, or scientists. We forget that we were going to change the world. We always give up those dreams because, as we grow up, we also get old, and we tell ourselves that you can’t live your life while wasting it on dreaming - there are just too many bills to pay; too much work to do. But the thing of it is, is that most of us have it completely wrong. It’s the kids who have got it right. Without the promise of dreams, without visions or hopes for a better future, there is absolutely no reason to accomplish anything. It is the possibility of realizing their dreams that motivates these young achievers, giving them the belief that they can do absolutely anything.
And every year, I am given the amazing privilege of showing them how absolutely right they are!
For over thirty years, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada has been sharing with these young dreamers our own dream of being able to end MS. Last year, over 40,000 students met our challenge by raising $1.7 million and reading more than a million books, all to make that dream a reality. They’ve never once been daunted by the challenge. They’ve never seen it is an “if.” They’ve only ever seen it as a matter of “when!” The next time you tell yourself that your world has no room for dreams, take a moment and look to the children - let them teach YOU for a change. They are the future. They are the ones that will take all our hopes and dreams, and turn them into manifest destiny.
And they are the ones who will be there - the day we finally end MS!
Irreverently Yours,
Aug, who feels deeply privileged to be a part of this!
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