"I am a child of miracles" : Lessons from a Schindler's List survivor





Two nights ago I had the privilege of attending a public lecture given by a woman named Eva, the very last remaining Schindler's List survivor.

She spoke of living in a Jewish ghetto in Poland, being in concentration camps including Auschwitz as a little girl (she was 2 when the war started), near escapes from being killed, and witnessing horrible, despicable things.

Being grateful for life itself

Overall the theme of what she said though was "I am a child of miracles". What an amazing statement. Here is a woman who has seen the very worst of life, but was still grateful for life itself. Here was someone who had every reason to see herself as a victim, but instead chose to see herself as a survivor. Here was someone who could have very well chosen to close herself off from life and others, but instead was being open and vulnerable and letting us all see her pain.

That got me thinking!

The power of affirmations

You see recently I have been listening to Louise Hay & Cheryl Richardson's DVD's entitled "You can trust your life". In these DVDs they talk about the power of affirmations and setting your intentions. Can you imagine how telling yourself "I am a child of miracles" would create a very different life experience to telling yourself "I am boring", "I am fat and ugly", or "I am stupid"?  Most of us, myself included, have negative scripts like this running throughout our heads day in day out.

Choosing a different path

Just for today, I invite you to consider a different message you could tell yourself - one which recognises and appreciates the beauty of life, and of YOU. One that considers your life to be a treasure and something worth fighting for.

What new message could you tell yourself? Leave a message in the comments below.


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