Matthew Germain
Contact Information: Post a comment on Matt's Story
|
When we are wounded we discover healing
When we’ve reached the bottom the only place left to look is up.
These are such common themes among the people who eventually choose to strike out on a path consisting of positive actions, feelings, beliefs and thoughts. Often it was simply the last option….you almost want to kick yourself for being so blind that you picked up this way of life so late in the game. Then you remember kicking yourself was what got you into the mess you just got out of.
We fall into guffaw over and over again eventually learning to laugh at the silly human dilemma. Like so many board games we land on that space or draw that card that sends us all the way back to the beginning. My story isn’t about climbing and then crashing. It isn’t about learning to be happy with the things that I had. My story isn’t even really about me. It is about playing your card and landing on your spaces with every breath and heartbeat you can muster in your being.
Like so many stories mine appears to begin with a tragedy. At three years old, on a beautiful May day in New England, I fell off my father’s lap while taking a ride on the family lawnmower. Just like that, my father watched his only son lose most of his left arm in a terrible accident. This man was once the boy who sat on the sidelines as his friends ran off to sports tryouts while he dealt with the complications of a heart defect. A similar fate was now in store for his son.
What was left of my arm was put back together by an incredible cast of doctor’s at Massachusetts General Hospital. My left arm would not straighten past 90 degrees, my wrist could not fully rotate and I lost my index, middle, and pinky fingers and a good deal of functioning in my pointer finger. By most medical standards this was a miracle. I live today with these reminders of how truly lucky I am.
Okay…so I never dreamed of being “like Mike” growing up. Recess was a proving ground where I worked as hard as I could to play all the sports the typical boy plays. Hours of dribbling in the backyard weren’t to make the “traveling basketball team”…they were an attempt just to be accepted by other kids my age.
Becoming proficient at standard “boy activities” of catching and throwing did not come easily. There were constant skirmishes with other boys and subsequent tears as I found myself worker harder and harder just to play like everyone else. This was when my father became a living angel for me. One day my father hit the floor at the local library, his heart went into arrest. His heart literally was re-wired. He was fitted with internal defibrillator that monitors his every heartbeat. Even though he was officially dead for several minutes…we did not lose our father, we actually gained something beyond value. We learned that our heart’s were the rhythm of our lives and to keep on dancing even when the beat becomes fast and you think you are going to slip out of a sync with everything!
My limitations did not need to be transcended but transformed. My life really began to take shape when it was apparent that through limitations we become something else. Not something exceptional but something remarkable. Possessing limitations becomes your advantage. A way to understand that there is more beyond what currently “is” in your life. I went on to become an athlete and remarkably I watched as any sense of a disability melted away from my reality. Their came a point that to reach the sub four minute mark in my event, the 1500 meters, was not impossible (this is about a 4:15 mile time). This mark was shattered the day after my father’s 58th birthday. The day he knew he would live longer than his father ever did! I was able to collect honor after honor for athletic and non-athletic pursuits. Through my father’s example it became so clear that one does not have to learn to live with their limitations. This was never his intention. We live to learn from limitations they are the path we travel to go further than we ever thought possible!
These lessons are pivotal to any an all growth. Through a positive outlook every moment of everyday be transformed into an incredible gift. Life happens and no matter how tragic it seems, it is unfolding in a way that is best suited to make you stronger and more vibrant than ever before.
There is now a running team called the Sisu Project. Sisu is Finnish and means “strength beyond all strength”. It is that experience of going beyond what you ever thought possible. No one escapes life without a glimpse of Sisu. The Sisu Project’s guiding principles are Stability and Positivity. Stability must exist in our lives so that from a grounded and centered place we can infuse our lives as well as others with positive energy. Every member of the team helps serve as a reminder to its members as well as all who come in contact with us that your excuses, your weaknesses, your worries can become your strengths once we let the light illuminate the paths they open up.
We do not need someone to pass away to learn from their lives. Continue to shine Dad the torches you lit are going to travel very very far!
Matthew Germain
Health Counseling - http://www.matthewgermain.com Sisu Project - http://www.sisuproject.com
Comments
Joanne wrote:
Funny thing, I remember watching you in college, run all those races, talking with you afterwards, and all the time I was in your presence; I never noticed your arm only that wonderful aura of light, like a beautiful sunny day that eminated all around you. You could truly light up the most darkest place. You are an inspiration to us all. I am so proud of you and truly grateful you are in our lives. I have no doubt that you will bring light to many people in your life.
Keep on shining See you on Oprah.
Mike wrote: Thank you Matt! You have helped me as a dad and you have helped my son with staying positive!
Colleen wrote: Rock on, Matt. Rock on! Always been proud to look up to you as my big brother :)
Jaidenda wrote: Well done, dude!
|