Reflecting on Choice

We got back from our trip to Jaipur yesterday evening and after we had dropped our bags, turned on the a/c, etc., Sister Tanner and I walked over to the Sector 40 market to get a few things. On the way we encountered a young man I want to tell you about. Seeing someone in a 3 wheeled device on the streets with a hand crank to provide propulsion is not uncommon here in India. I guess you would call them wheelchairs, but they are more like a recombinant bicycle with a platform seat and a hand crank instead of foot pedals.It was dusk, but as we were walking along the street I could see one of the bicycle devices coming towards us. When we were close enough to see the occupant, he stopped cranking and brought his hands into a namaste and greeted us with a big smile which we readily returned. I could see that he did not have legs, which was the reason for his dependence on the wheelchair. As we passed and continued on our way with a lump in my throat, it really struck me how people still have a choice in their approach to life regardless of their circumstances and here was a young man who epitomized that. He has chosen to meet life with a smile he readily shares regardless of what life has dealt him.