Instant Enlightenment

While in high school I remember seeing a news story about a football coach who coached from the sidelines in a wheelchair. His condition also prevented him from calling out plays to the players on the field, so he would whisper them to his wife, who would then relay them into the action.

I was shocked and confused. I asked my parents how in the world could someone who doesn't play football coach a football team?

"How often does Larry get in the water with you?" was the response. 

Larry was my water polo coach. Like all other water polo coaches I had ever seen, and I'd seen a lot, he coached from the pool deck.

That single sentence lifted my veil of illusion. By pointing out my own direct experience to me, an entire train wreck of misunderstandings and assumptions was wiped away. In an instant.

Of course this handicapable man could coach. He knew the game. Loved the game. He was a winning coach. He was well-respected and well-liked.

I would go on to learn about people like Stephen Hawking and Jean-Dominique Bauby -- other brilliant spirits encased in meat suits that didn't function at optimal levels, and my interest and understanding of the phenomenon of the human mind continues to grow.

But that moment, watching television with my parents, with a single sentence inquiry and a single sentence response stands out as a moment of instant enlightenment in my journey to the grave.

I hope there were others that I don't recall as vividly. I hope there are more to come. And, like any other miracle bestowed upon me, one is also enough.