YOU'RE THE ONE
Les tells the story proudly now, with an ending that few would have ever predicted when he was in high school. He remembers the turning point as though it were yesterday. Just a chance encounter and an offhand comment... but it changed his life forever. He had slipped quietly into the back of a classroom to wait for a friend that day. The last thing he wanted was to be noticed, but the teacher asked him to go to the board and work out a problem. Les pointed out that he wasn't a student in that class. "It doesn't matter," said Mr Washington, the teacher. "Go do it anyway." Les protested that he couldn't. Somewhat embarrassed, he added, "Because I'm 'Educable Mentally Retarded'." At that point, the teacher came out from behind his desk, looked at the embarrassed teenager and challenged him, "Don't ever say that again. Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality". The students laughed, of course, but Les didn't really mind so much. In a way, it was as though the teacher's comment had set him free. Someone had looked at him and seen possibilities. Les had never dared hope for that before. Perhaps he COULD move beyond the limits others had placed on him. Today, Les explains his awakening with the words of Goethe: "Look at a man the way that he is, he only becomes worse. But look at him as if he were what he could be, and then he becomes what he should be". That's how Mr. Washington became Les's mentor, and a constant source of inspiration. While still a junior, Les heard something Mr. Washington told some graduating seniors. "You have greatness within you. If just one of you can get a glimpse of a larger vision of yourself, of who you really are, the world will never be the same again. You can touch millions of people's lives." The amazing thing is that Les Brown did indeed go on to realize his dream. He has since produced a number of specials that have been shown on public television. As his old mentor had once predicted, once he found that "larger glimpse of himself," Les was able to "touch the lives of millions". Even if we're "successful," I suspect most of us never catch that vision, never understand how special we are. Not really. We're too busy trying to be someone else. After all, we are constantly bombarded by powerful messages telling us what attributes society finds most desirable. And we respond by trying to make ourselves over in that image. For many, it's not even a matter of being the best looking, the brightest, or the most admired. It's a quest just to be "normal". Even big egos can be a way of hiding a sense of inadequacy, or a cry for attention. The Bible's message is quite different. It reminds us that each person is created in God's image, with unique gifts and potential. No one else can make our contribution..or take advantage of our opportunities...or affect the world in just our way. Who knows the difference YOU might make if you were to discover that larger vision? May you discover that vision.
CAPT J. David Atwater, CHC, USN
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