Not long ago, I knew of a man who defied life. At the age 44, he was bombed; he lost his left hand and nearly lost both his legs. Despite the challenges he was facing, through it all, he endured the surgery and three months later, with skin grafting, he was back on his feet.
At another point in time, after he had turned 79 years old, he lost the ability to hear sounds, and a couple of months down the line, he lost his sight. And one night, as he rose from bed to visit the lavatory, he stepped wrongly and fractured his leg.
At the time of the last incident, he was 82 years old, and seeing him in all these situations, one would have taken pity upon this old man, but never did the old man take pity upon himself.
While he had lost the ability to hear sound, while everyone regarded him deaf, he nonetheless refused to accept this imposed reality. Against all odds, he refused to accept crutches would be his way of life.
Instead of arguing with people about what they perceived him, he cultivated a sense of self-belief, surrounded himself with people who shared his view. He believed, one day he would see, that one day he would walk, and one day he would turn on the radio and hear his favourite Mozart.
Each day that proceeded, he cultivated upon this belief. While we all remained skeptical, he worked. Day and night he cultivated. Through faith and belief, he manifested, and “As a man thinketh” so he became.
While he worked, he did not complain, he did not justify; nor did he criticise anyone for not sharing his beliefs.
Through this unwavering faith, each day, he rose from bed and turned the radio on. For several days and weeks, he repeated the same process. Over and over he turned the stereo until one day, he heard the sounds of music.
While his sight had impaired and could not see, he did not moan, nor developed dependability skills. Every morning, every afternoon and each evening, he meditated. He visualised. Time and again, he practiced and visited opticians until one day he was able to see again.
On another occasion, he had to use crutches and walk sticks for his fractured leg. Still, he refused to accept he was a differently abled man. Through this determination, daily affirmation, endless walks, one day he dashed the crutches and walked like a free man.
Even on his dying bed, he refused to accept the fate imposed by death. He calmly declared his peace and ascended as one who lived by faith.
In his ‘Will’, as his final wish, he described how he wanted to be remembered. Where he desired to be buried; the church service, the preacher and the sermon were both named beforehand.
Everything was mapped in two-dimensional. As the man had lived, so was his last wish granted, when the body was cremated, and the ashes scattered to the four corners of the Earth.
Such is the power of choice, unwavering belief, the resilience to endure the unknown. Such was the life lived by the late Bishop John Robert Osmers.
