working out

I was working out this morning and a paraplegic began working out next to me. I have never seen someone in a wheelchair workout in the rec at UAB so I was interested in what he would do. So I, inconspicuously, began to observe him between my sets. He was fearless! Bench-pressing, doing pushups and pull-ups. Watching him this morning somehow made me reflect on how selfish and childish I have been. When I was younger I always would lament on the things that went wrong in my life. But this man who, to me, should have every reason to be upset and mad at the world was not. Instead, he put all of this out his mind and pushed. While I was watching him do pull-ups he slipped and his leg was caught in his wheelchair. I begin to go over to give him some assistant, but when I reached him he was already up. He didn't need any help. He stumble, but was able to handle himself without the assistant of others. "Don't ask for things, if you want something go in get it. Or else you'll never truly own it." This quote came from one of my favorite anime series, Eureka 7. I believe that this quote is a mantra that one could live by. This man didn't accept his situation. He didn't take his lot in life and just bow down. He is fighting the norms and creating someone who is truly unique. I thank this man that I don't know. I thank him for inspiring me to not just accept my lot in life and when I stumble, don't give up and don't look for assistance, just keep pushing through.