You Can Do Anything

Yesterday I was pushing a 6-year old on a playground swing. I said, "How high do you want to go?"

"All the way to the sky! And then I want to kick a cloud and make it rain!"

He said this with such conviction, such excitement, that I couldn't help but smile and tell him how awesome he is. This particular child is legally blind. He doesn't actually know how far away the clouds are, he only knows that someone told him they are up there raining down on him. And for a few minutes he honestly believed he could reach the sky if he pumped his swing hard enough.

This, for me, was a brilliant lesson in believing in yourself. According to the American Foundation For The Blind somewhere around 60% of blind and visually impaired people remain unemployed. At 6 years old this little boy has no idea that many people don't expect him to ever be able to work. He is absolutely brilliant. At the age of 6 he can add and subtract numbers in his head faster than I can. I have many children in my life who I firmly believe will change the world. I believe he can do anything. I believe he can figure out how to make it rain...

Because when I woke up today it was pouring.