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Every now and then I find something on the web worth sharing with others. Especially during the holidays, we can often get so caught up in the hustle and bustle, running here and there trying to do everything on everyone else’s agenda, that we forget to just stop and look around to enjoy our life.
It’s been a month since the world lost one of those few inspiring souls that show us that a physical handicap is no excuse for not living a full, inspiring life.
Marty Ravallette was born without arms, but not only lived his life with joy and enthusiasm, but left an example for all of us to follow.
One of the few Bahai followers living in the Chapel Hill, N.C. area, Ravallette ran a landscaping business. Seeing a man without arms pushing a lawn mower was a sight that often shocked those passing by. If you stuck around, you’d also see him planting trees, trimming shrubs and even running a chain saw. On the weekends, you might even see him baiting his own hook with his feet while fishing.
In 1998, he punched through the window of a burning van to save a woman inside. But his most heroic act was simply living a life that reminds us that "wholeness" has less to do with our physical bodies than what is inside of us.
Ravallette was killed in an automobile accident last month. He is sorely missed.
Before his tragic death, he spoke regularly with students at UNC, encouraging them to make a difference with their lives regardless of what challenges they encountered along the way. He encouraged them to accept those who seem different, to refuse to limit themselves and to see opportunities instead of obstacles. "God has given every one of us gifts," he told his listeners. "My gift is that I was born with no arms."
I am both inspired and humbled by the life that Ravallette lived. Inspired by the courage and tenacity he showed in refusing to submit to even a hint of self-pity or to allow the limitations inherent in his physical handicap to hold him back in any way. Humbled by my own self-imposed limitations that I have unwittingly allowed to keep me from living my life to its fullest potential.
My question to you (as well as to myself), is why are you allowing the challenges in your life to keep you from living the life you want? I know that my obstacles are almost non-existent next to what Ravallette faced throughout his entire life and yet I regularly allow myself to indulge in little private "pity parties" and make a long list of excuses for why I’m not happy or am not able to achieve the kind of life that I desire. Shame on me.
I hope that Ravallette’s example will inspire all of us to change. To find hope and courage and to get our eyes off of ourselves and start living life to its fullest in spite of any challenges we’re facing.
A healthy life is not restricted to an ideal physical body. It’s embracing the reality of who and what we have been given in life and investing all of it to its fullest potential, regardless of how "limited" it may seem to us at times
Marty Ravallette will be missed by those who knew and loved him. I encourage you to follow his example and live your life to its utmost regardless of what "limitations" you may think that you have.
Stay healthy.
PS: Here are a few resources to learn more about Marty Ravallette:
