the warrior in this woman

I recently read a short anecdote that reminded me of one of the first women I looked up to as a child, and that was Helen Keller. I discovered the life story of this woman amongst the bookshelves of St Patrick's Primary School library - back in the days when we had bean bags and pillows in the reading pit, when library monitors rode the red trolley up and down the ramp, when the cataloguing system was still on hardcopy, and when Apple Macs didn't have full-colour screens.

Helen Keller's story unfolded in a series of cartoon animations on off-white pages with a large type-face - the first of many courageous lives that shaped my own. For those who don't know, Helen Keller's story is one of determination, faith, and incredible endurance. At a very young age she fell ill with a fever. The fever left, but took with it her ability to see and hear. For the rest of her life, Helen Keller remained deaf and blind.

How does a person speak when they can't see the letters or hear the sounds? She couldn't see the people she met, nor could she hear their voices. She couldn't be taught the way normal kids get taught. Yet she learnt how to speak. She learnt how to understand people... and it was these two skills that allowed her to leave her legacy in the world.

It takes a miracle... And that's exactly what Helen Keller is - a miracle in a world where people forget that miracles are happening daily. She is an example of a woman who was determined to do something extraordinary with the less-than-ordinary cards that had been dealt to her.

Part of her legacy was setting up clinics for people with disabilities as she travelled around the world. But this wasn't her only achievement. I was affirmed reading about her appreciation of art and performance. She "saw" things with her hands, and heard people with her touch. Other than a change of scent, the rest of her life was a black hole - but it was never boring. She travelled, she spoke at conferences, she watched New York broadway, she visited Michaelangelo's David. National leaders, politicians, renowned actors, children and adults alike wanted to see her, and be with her. They wanted to hear her speak. They wanted her to share her faith. She was a hero - because she overcame her own weaknesses and turned them into her strengths.

There are very few people I have met or learned about who have earned my admiration is such a strong way. But there are people everywhere who remind me that I have what it takes, and that I don't have anything to be afraid of. Helen Keller is one. St Therese of Lisieux is another. Mother Teresa and Mother Mary are another two.

These are people who I think about so that I can remind myself that it's ok to dream. It's ok to set crazy goals, despite the things that might make me doubt. It's possible to accomplish things, despite them defying what the world says is or isn't ok. It's ok to be an idealist.

I never want to forget what I was like, back in primary school when I used to read and re-read the book about Helen Keller. The amazement I felt in me, reading about her strength, her faith, and the people who supported her, guided her and loved her.

But what I love most, was that this woman could see things that most of us don't.
Most of us are afraid to be dreamers, and most of us are afraid to step out of mediocrity. We think it's impossible to have more... but each time you feel that urge inside you to be more, to experience more, to live for more... remember this: you were made for more.