*Sam Brackett
When writing these posts, I will typically find a quotation that tries to capture what I’ve written about. Today it is different, and the quotation is the source of inspiration for words to follow. My son, Sam, said the words on a video featuring him and his mum, that was shared on social media as part of the celebration of World Down Syndrome Week (WDSW). Sam has Down syndrome and his words were said in the context of how he loves swimming, but they seem to have taken on a broader interpretation – and not just by me; there were plenty of comments about it on the various posts.
‘Just take a breath and have a go’ could apply to so many things we face in life. Often the temptation is to place things into the too difficult box, to turn away from the challenge. There is nothing wrong with that; life is complicated, and we need to do what we’re comfortable with. But there are times when we do need to push ourselves – just that little bit more. Most of the time when we do step out of that proverbial comfort zone and embrace the thing we’ve been anxious about and then afterwards think about the experience, we will often reflect and wonder why there we were so worried to begin with. As someone commented on Sam’s post, “time to lose the fear.”
Irrespective of the challenge, motivation to move forward will often come in many different shapes of inspiration – whether that is a little voice within, perhaps external words or actions, thought of a person or maybe music. For many of us that inspiration will originate from our family and WDSW is a time when I reflect on my family and, in particular, Sam’s journey. Notwithstanding the curve balls or hurdles placed in his way he always emerges the other side calm and determined, usually displaying a steely smile as if to say, ‘not sure what all the fuss was about, I knew I could do it.’
We learn from those around us, and I feel blessed to be able to say that I have some impressive role models to help guide and strengthen my own values, thoughts and actions.
For those who would like to hear from Sam…
