There are times you may feel overwhelmed, and you may ask “why me? “Why does all the bad stuff happen to me?” I’ve learned not to do that.
During my professional wrestling career, I made it a point to visit the children in the local hospitals everywhere I went. Many of the children were under 5 years old and most were no older than 12. Sadly, most of them were terminally ill.
Friends would often ask me, “Richie, how can you go look at those poor little children, so sick and connected to all those tubes and machines?” The truth is I never focused on all the tubes or machines. I ignored the beeping and hospital noises. I looked only at the children and treated them like children. I never treated them as “sick” children, just children.
When I would do these visits, I would bring the big gold championship belts, along with pictures and programs from the shows I had wrestled on. I signed autographs and took photographs with the children holding the belts. Sometimes the wrestlers would get on opposite sides of the bed and cut promos on each other about how if we weren’t separated by this bed, we would beat each other up. The kids loved it and would get into the fun like they were part of their own personal wrestling show. We would even get the parents involved. For the short while that we were there, we were able to help them escape the reality of their situation and have some fun. It was incredibly rewarding to see the parents and children laughing and enjoying themselves, even if only for a little while!
Those visits help me keep life in perspective. I can’t imagine anything worse than sitting in the hospital with your young child knowing they are dying and there is nothing you can do but sit there and pray for a miracle. What I do know is that no matter what I am going through it is never as difficult as what those families are going through. That’s why I don’t ask “Why me?” or complain about bad luck. Instead, I say, “We’ll figure it out, and we’ll get through this.” The children taught me what truly matters. It’s not what’s in your bank account or your possessions, life is about moments. Don’t take them for granted. Live and enjoy all your moments. Life is so very precious and can end in an instant. Make the most of every moment you have!
I realize I have been very fortunate to have a dream and have the opportunity to live out that dream. More important than that, I have been blessed to meet all of these incredible children and to spend time with them. I have wonderful memories of those visits, from all the joking around to seeing them hold the big championship belts and pretend to be the champion themselves. I have played videos games and laughed until we cried as they beat me and celebrated being better than the big, tough wrestler.
Thanks to all of those visits I have a new perspective on life. I hope this article helps you find a new perspective too. Be thankful for every moment!
