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Perspective
Posted by
Whippet gal
,
06 July 2011
·
236 views
Today I met someone who... ... ...
Actually, there are no words to describe the remarkable man I met.
I met a 91 year old survivor of the Holocaust. He was absolutely incredible.
The first thing I noticed about him was his enormous, bright smile and his laugh as he greeted me. I had just been looking at photographs of the ghettos the NAZIs created, and I immediately thought - how can you smile? You lived through Auschwitz, you lost your family and friends (his mother died in the gas chambers), you forever have a reminder tattooed into your forearm, you have experienced first hand the worst humankind is capable of, yet you can smile?
I suppose my notion was that if I had lived through that, all I would be left with was pain, bitterness and hatred for the people who carried out the atrocities, as well as those who stood by and turned a blind eye as it was happening. But after meeting Eddie, I realised my perspective was all wrong. The emphasis shouldn't be on the atrocities he lived through but the fact that he lived.
He said every day he got up with a huge smile on his face. He said he sang loudly in the shower each morning (much to his wife's dismay). He said every single day he felt so incredibly happy to be alive.
I learnt an important lesson in perspective today.
Eddie and his wife. (Photo courtesy J-Wire).
Actually, there are no words to describe the remarkable man I met.
I met a 91 year old survivor of the Holocaust. He was absolutely incredible.
The first thing I noticed about him was his enormous, bright smile and his laugh as he greeted me. I had just been looking at photographs of the ghettos the NAZIs created, and I immediately thought - how can you smile? You lived through Auschwitz, you lost your family and friends (his mother died in the gas chambers), you forever have a reminder tattooed into your forearm, you have experienced first hand the worst humankind is capable of, yet you can smile?
I suppose my notion was that if I had lived through that, all I would be left with was pain, bitterness and hatred for the people who carried out the atrocities, as well as those who stood by and turned a blind eye as it was happening. But after meeting Eddie, I realised my perspective was all wrong. The emphasis shouldn't be on the atrocities he lived through but the fact that he lived.
He said every day he got up with a huge smile on his face. He said he sang loudly in the shower each morning (much to his wife's dismay). He said every single day he felt so incredibly happy to be alive.
I learnt an important lesson in perspective today.
Eddie and his wife. (Photo courtesy J-Wire).
Lindy