Ben Underwood is an American boy with two blinded eyes. But people who don't know him can not tell he actually can not see. He rides bike, plays basket ball, runs up and down in stairs and he even plays video games. Many people are amazed by what he can do and eager to know how he get such unbelievable skill, but rarely people ask why it happened in the first place.
At the age of three, Ben Underwood was diagnosed with eye cancer, which puts his mother in a dire and excruciating situation. Either Ben would take intensive chemo therapy and might have a little chance to get his eyesight back (but if not successful, he will die). Or remove Ben'e eyes and save his life. Anybody in Ben's mum shoes will know how hard it is for a mum. Eventually Ben's mum decided to removes Ben's eyes.
When Ben woke up from his surgery, he asked his mum why he can not see anymore. In this critical moment which can make or break, Ben's mum put Ben's hand on her cheek and told Ben that " You can still see me with your hand"; she put her arm under Ben's nose and told him that " You can still see my arm from your nose"; She also whispered into Ben's ear and told him that " You can still see me through my voice". And just in that moment, Ben's mum didn't label Ben as a blind child who was not able to see anymore, instead she enlighten Ben that in what way he can see. And that demonstrates the passion to search for possibility rather than being conditioned by the situation. And from there, Ben taught himself 'Echo Location' which is similar to bat, using the echo of sound wave to detect object and find direction. And Ben made himself the best Echo Locater in the world.
Liz Murray was the author of the book breaking night. She was in the same challenging environment as Ben when she was 15. Both her parents were drug addicts and later contaminated with HIV. Liz became homeless and had to sleep on the street. Even in such desperating time, she still had the same dream as most other people, get education, build a family and live a better life. She kept knocking doors on every high school of New York city and wanted them to accept her, who is homeless and without financial support. She received many many rejections, and her dream is so out of reach that the easiest thing seems to do is just to give up. But there is always a voice of "What if" talking at the back of her head, What if she can go into high school, what if she can go to college. So she keeps knocking, knocking and knocking until one high school gave admission to her.
Both story of Ben and Liz are very inspiring. It tells us the potential is timeless, and at any new moment, there is new opportunity. No matter what ,keep your dream alive. As Martin Luther King says " Our life ends when what matters to us most becomes silent".
Read Breaking Night and find your passion to search for the unlimited potential in your life.
