Illustration By: Alain Elorza
My first nephew was a beautiful baby who has grown into a beautiful little boy. When he was 1 year old he could already calculate simple arithmetic. About half a year later he started losing his language and wanted to be left alone. My beautiful nephew was diagnosed a few years later. He has autism.
Finding out about my nephew’s condition had been devastating for us. We didn’t know what to expect and we only knew he’s special. Now I know how fantastic he really is. How pure and sincere this wee child is. I would like to share the inspiration he has given me with you:
- Get absorbed in the moment. My nephew notices textures and colors in an intense way. He touches everything he wants to observe, and he’s eager to observe every little detail. He doesn’t rashes through life but rather takes complete heed. If there’s an ant, making her way home with a seed on her back, my nephew’s wide and awake eyes will notice and follow.
- Switch off jealousy and competitiveness. My nephew has never had feelings of jealousy or competitiveness, he is the purest person I have come to know. He is sensitive and always seeking the well being of his loved ones. The negative thoughts are completely switched off and he does not recognize them (hence cannot understand why others switch these negative forces on).
- Smile. My nephew can lose touch with everyone and run away to be left alone, but when he’s interacting with people he loves (and he always loves a person, the first time he sees him or her) he has the widest and most pristine smile you can ever imagine. The kind of smile that gets you out of a bad mood in an instant. When my nephew smiles at you – you cannot help it but smile too. You instantly fall in love with him.
It will take me a lot of time and practice to fully adopt all the elements which my nephew naturally lives by, but I am learning and evolving – all thanks to my wonderful nephew.
Share –
- Have you had an unequalled teacher in your life?
- What lessons have you learned from your exceptional teacher?
Leave a comment and share your learning experiences.
Tags: autism, Inspiration
what an absolutely beautiful post.
You are so right that we can learn some vital lessons in life through children like your nephew (you don’t say how old he is though – I don’t think).
to be able to view the world through such innocent eyes, eyes not tained by regret or jealousy or negativity is a wonderful wonderful thing.
Just visiting from MomGrind and saw you were from Ireland and thought, oh I don’t know, thought I’d pop in and say hello!
So hello!
Thanks, Tara. I appreciate your comment so much, especially as it’s a really personal post.
I have hesitated a lot before publishing it… But he is such a wonderful child that I felt I must share his special outlook with the world.
My nephew is 9 years old now.
Thanks for sharing about your nephew. I’ve known many exceptional kids like him, though not intimately. You are truly blessed to have him and to be open to all he has to offer you and your family. My own children (one is 8 and the other two are 6) are my exceptional teachers. Here is what they’ve taught me and how I’ve expressed it”
http://handmadebooks.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-most-exceptional-teachers.html
Thank you for sharing.
Hello Avital,
Thank you so much for all the inspiration you provide with your great blog ! I am excited to have found you and to play along with your prompts.
As you found, I was quickly inspired by the wonderful story you told about your nephew, your unequalled teacher extraordinaire! For me, my sweet grandmother was a dear life teacher for me. Thank you for your comment on my story about her.
(http://queen-of-arts.blogspot.com/2008/11/inspiration-prompt-24-lessons-learned.html)
I will check in often to see what other creative treasures you have in store for us ! Thanks again !
Cheers,
Kim
I love the way you highlight the things that are beautiful about him. I wish our society was more accepting of people who are outside the norm. I wish everyone could see the beauty in being different.
Accepting of people who are outside the norm was naturally the first lesson I’ve learned from him. Without knowing him and seeing how absolutely beautiful he is inside (as well as outside but it’s irrelevant) I would have stayed watchfully away from everything that is different.
I just stumbled upon your blog and have spent quite some time here. I love your ideas, enthusiasm for life and easy, approachable style. So glad I found you!
Thank you very much! I’m glad to be found by each and every one of my readers 🙂 I really appreciate your feedback.
Hi there! When i read this post i just keept think about my daughter Zoe. She is 7 and was diagnosed ASD when she was 3 1/2. I find myself being very lucky; though most people who do not understand autism dont agree, that Zoe is high functioning. and i would not change this for the world. she ,like you mentioned about your nephew, looks apon life in a whole innocent way, she loves the ‘little’ things that we take for granted and when she smiles the whole room lights up! Zoe loves everyone and bears no grudges on anyone no matter what they do to her,she just asked why umu? but doent always understand. Sometimes i wish everyone could see the world through Zoes eyes. The would would be a better place i am sure!
Good luck to your family, i dont know how old your nephew is but i am sure you have had trying times and more to come, but it is all worth it! I know!
check out my blog, osirisandloki.blogspot.com
Thank you very much for sharing Zoe’s story. The world would definitely be a better place. Sometimes I think the autistic people are higher beings which are built in a better way than the rest of us are built. They are more progressed and know what is important and what should never be concerned. (My nephew is 9 years old now).
Thank you for your kind words. It was nice to see that you visited our blog.
Do you have children of your own?
Nope. I don’t have any children yet.
i have a brother that is autistic and we love him so much and gave all of our support on him :::