The legendary Wimbledon player who was dying of AIDS, which he got due to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983. He received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed:
"Why did God have to select you for such a bad disease?"
To this Arthur Ashe replied:
50 Million children started playing Tennis,
5 Million learnt to play Tennis,
500 Thousand learnt Professional Tennis,
50 Thousand came to Circuit,
5 Thousand reached Grand Slam,
50 reached Wimbledon,
4 reached the Semifinals,
2 reached the Finals and
when I was holding the cup in my hand, I never asked God:
"Why Me?"
So now that I'm in pain how can I ask God:
"Why Me?"
Happiness keeps you Sweet!
Trials keep you Strong!
Sorrows keep you Human!
Failure keeps you Humble!
Success keeps you Glowing!
But only, Faith keeps you Going!
Sometimes you are not satisfied with your life, while many people in this world are dreaming of living your life.
A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead dreams of flying. but, a pilot on the plane sees the farmhouse & dreams of returning home.
That's life!
Enjoy yours...
If wealth is the secret to happiness, then the rich should be dancing on the streets.
But only poor kids do that.
If power ensures security, then VIPs should walk unguarded.
But those who live simply, sleep soundly.
If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships, then celebrities should have the best marriages.
Live simply, be happy! Walk humbly and love genuinel
*Thanks to Sujat Shah, a very engaged reader of FR and an incredible humble soul, from India for sharing this beautiful story.
Wonderful post! Thanks to Sujat for this great reflexion
Posted by: GCT | April 12, 2019 at 08:59 AM
Response of Sujat when I asked if I credit him in FR for sharing this article with me:
"Of course, do share Arthur Ashe's incident. Only thing, things come through various channels - channels r simply like cables conducting energy (eg: electricity).... and surely the energy is more important than the cable it comes through. :)
There is no need to mention the cable, particularly when it is a simple zip-chord yet working to be free of resistance!! :)"
Posted by: posted by Anand | April 12, 2019 at 09:03 AM
Wonderful post... smple and subtle and also very true...you always yearn for whT you don’t have and in that yearning you forget to enjoy what you do have! So ironical
Posted by: Milan | April 12, 2019 at 11:28 AM
Thank you Anand for your Friday diligence and for sharing all these inspirational stories
Posted by: FR reader | April 12, 2019 at 11:31 AM
A wonderful post, Anand.. thank you for sharing!!
Posted by: BHSC | April 12, 2019 at 12:41 PM
You want own happiness when you are young, then you think you will be happy when you successful. But at our age, we should realize happiness is all about attitude
Posted by: Chen | April 12, 2019 at 12:42 PM
this is ridiculously good!
Posted by: Humble warrior | April 12, 2019 at 01:56 PM
True. In chinese we have a saying of people who are in the circle of walls envy the life of those r outside of the circle if wall. Vice versa. We have to cherish what we have.
In chinese it means 感恩
Posted by: Yi | April 12, 2019 at 04:02 PM
Beautiful post! Thank you Anand. Humbling and worthy of long reflections.
Posted by: Singapore Friend | April 12, 2019 at 04:02 PM
Beautiful and absolutely true!
Posted by: RE-Philippines | April 12, 2019 at 04:10 PM
Really like this post. It helps us to see the true values we should pursue.
Posted by: CH | April 12, 2019 at 07:42 PM
That is a beautiful message. Arthur Ashe is one of those heroes like Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson. His career was hugely successful and he was a pioneer in sports, but we remember him most as a great role model, and for his magnanimous humanity.
"You're born of a free will. You can play, or you can not play."
"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX09hjb4XYA (BBC documentary about Arthur R Ashe Jr.)
Posted by: Levi's | April 13, 2019 at 12:20 AM
Shared with my Toastmaster club today. They loved the story
Posted by: Seong | April 13, 2019 at 01:12 PM
Thanks Anand this is truly enriching sharing
Posted by: Pulao Penang SS | April 13, 2019 at 01:13 PM
Wonderful article, Anand. And a great reminder to thank God for everything we have. Sometimes it’s hard to be thankful for the trials, but they teach us so many things in life.
Posted by: FTE-Philippines | April 13, 2019 at 01:14 PM
Very touching! He was a great champion!
Posted by: Basant Rajput | April 13, 2019 at 09:27 PM