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We
are all broken and wounded in this world. Some choose to grow
strong at the broken places. |
Harold J. Duarte-Bernhardt |
| The Nicholas effect |
It
made headlines, and broke hearts worldwide. Highway robbers
shot Nicholas Green, a freckle-faced, 7 year-old from
California, USA holidaying in Italy with his parents.
He died two days later. The story might have ended with
that tragedy, but his parents Reg and Maggie Green made
a very different decision, and one that had a dramatic
impact. They donated their son’s organs to seven
Italians—among them a mother who had never seen
her baby’s face; a diabetic who had been repeatedly
in comas; and a boy of 15, wasting away with a heart disease.
Today all seven are alive, healthy and leading full lives.
The Greens’ act of compassion in the midst of devastating
circumstances led to an unexpected outpouring of love
and support from around the world, a deluge of media attention,
both overseas and in the United States., and something
now called “The Nicholas Effect” Reg Green,
Nicholas’ father and author of “The Nicholas
Effect: A Young Boy’s Gift to the World.”
added, “When we looked at Nicholas, he didn’t
look like a sleeping child. We knew he was dead and therefore,
didn’t need that body anymore. His teacher always
said he was the most giving boy she had ever met. His
future had been taken away from him. It seemed even more
important than ever that that future should be given to
someone else.”
—Thanks to The Nicholas
(effect), organ donations in Italy alone have nearly tripled.
16 minutes video from Nicholas Green Foundation is appreciated
in all the Organ Transplant Centers all over the world
and is changing the lives of thousands…”.
Believing that it is our nature to enjoy giving and receiving
in a compassionate manner, two questions come to the mind.
What allows some people to stay connected to their compassionate
nature under even the most trying circumstances? And conversely,
what happens to disconnect us from our compassionate nature,
leading us to behave violently and exploitatively?
| It
takes years and years to make the
lines, but it takes a few moments
to make the headlines. |
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With the intense concentration
of a master craftsman, Zidane achieved everything
football offered, before throwing away a large
chunk of it because of an inability to live down
a momentary lapse of reason.
A surgeon’s father-in-law was 85 years
old, terminally ill from cancer and was on death
bed. Losing the moment of reason, suddenly his
wife (herself a doctor) blasted him in front of
other doctors and patients in I.C.U., “I
will also do the same, when you will die…”.
Can the grief reaction be tamed with education?
It is not always possible to stick to pre-decided
set-pieces and strategies. Among the factors that
affect our ability to stay compassionate are:
1. Crucial role of language and
2. Our use of words.
Marshall Rosenberg calls this language of compassion
as “Non-violent communi-cation.” This
communication skill strengthens our ability to
remain human even under trying conditions.
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R. S.
Bhatia Dr. Parveen Bhatia |
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