Meet Mr. BuddhaBear
In the splendid fall of 2001, I met Mr.
Buddhabear . Unexpectedly, it had changed my attitude towards life; and since
then, my life has never been the same.
I had heard a lot of the mystery of Mr.
Buddhabear , who was described as a strong, wild, free, and crazy man, from my
friends. They also showed me his picture in which he was riding a horse on the
plains with big smile, thick eyebrows, blue eyes, and tanned skin, and while waving
with his cow-boy hat wildly. Well, finally, we decided to stop by his ranch to
say hello. When we arrived, he came out with the same smile and opened his arms
to welcome us. I could feel his strength when I hugged him, and I liked the
special aura that enveloped his self-confidence. He looked similar to the
photo, but time had added some wrinkles and the unique mustache appeared. He was
wearing a suede vest and a pair of shiny, fancy brown leather boots. He moved
so smoothly, as a breeze, with his strong athletic arms. We sat down around him
to listen to his rainbow-like adventures.
I will never forget what he told us that
day. He said, “Don’t say NO before you TRY, because you can’t comprehend how much
potential you will have.” Mr. Buddhabear had traveled around the world due to
his duty in the Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency, and survived from
wars overseas a couple times. He was intelligent and used to have a sturdy body
until the flying accident. From then on, he started a new life, from re-learning
crawling, eating, and dressing like a child to flying and driving. He had conquered
his weaknesses and conflicts mentally and physically. When he was sitting in
the class to teach, on his mind, he was standing straight with 5’9” height
overlooking those watermelons. These impossible missions are the experiences
that he never thought he would have.
Dreaming was an important motive that
pushed him to move on and succeed. He did his job by listening to his heart and
ignoring peoples’ criticism. In spite of negative opinions and circumstances,
he kept dreaming and pursuing his goals, such as completing his writing (a
book) in bed. What he had been thinking of was “dreams.” He was so positive that
he accomplished those ordeals with his strong perseverance and will.
I have realized that failure is not the
worst; giving up is. Success won’t knock on my door if I don’t work on my
dreams. I will try to follow the life he led the best way I can. Mr. Buddhabear
is my Mentor and his words are my mottos. I feel so honored to have known him.
By Yuki 05/07/2009
