Recently I was privileged to be involved on various levels with the Possibilities event that brought the Dalai Lama to Ireland. The event itself was hugely positive with a tremendous feel good factor associated, not to mention the main act – the Dalai Lama himself. While the Dalai Lama was the person that captured the attention of the nation, I found myself inspired by another Irish person.
Recently I was privileged to be involved on various levels with the Possibilities event that brought the Dalai Lama to Ireland. The event itself was hugely positive with a tremendous feel good factor associated, not to mention the main act – the Dalai Lama himself. While the Dalai Lama was the person that captured the attention of the nation, I found myself inspired by another Irish person. The Dalai Lama often refers to this Derry man as his hero, his name is Richard Moore. Richard had a very interesting and inspiring story to tell the audience at the Possibilities event, how as a young boy of ten years of age he was shot by a British soldier and was blinded for life. While most people would bear a grievance towards their attackers, Richard bore no hatred to the British soldier and forgave him and eventually met up with him years later.
Richard spoke at length at how he was fortunate to have the support of his family and friends during this difficult period of his life. He praised the support of his mother especially during this time which aided him having an extremely positive perspective on life. This, he believes, was possible because of the goodwill that was pouring in from all areas of Ireland at the time. Horrified mothers from all over Ireland were sending letters of support to Richard’s mother; he also received countless holy medals and bottles of holy water. He had some wonderful anecdotes about how his mother nearly drowned him with water from Knock, Lourdes, Medjugorje; how he had so many holy medals pinned to his vest that he jingled every time he moved.
With all this support, Richard ended up having a great childhood and with his friends he even learned to cycle his bike, without sight, around Derry. Richard grew up to become an accomplished business man, and established the international charity “Children in Crossfire”. It was through this charitable work that he came to the attention of the Dalai Lama and soon became his close friend and ultimately, his hero. Richard spoke at length that while there were difficult times and he does wish sometimes he could have his vision back, he sees his blindness as a blessing in disguise. He was provided with opportunities and met people he would never have met. Due to these opportunities he in turn was able to provide support to the many children caught in the crossfire of war. He stated boldly that he would be glad to stay blind if it meant that he could make such a massive positive influence on the people he has connected with.
“See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort”. ~ Dalai Lama
In today’s climate we face many challenges daily, whether they are in our personal or professional lives. Whiles these challenges can be daunting, the lesson to be learnt from Richard Moore is that challenges can be blessings in disguise. These blessings could only become possible by taking action as was demonstrated by Richard Moore`s mother and the mothers of Ireland. By taking action with the right support and positive perspective, we too can lead positive lives and influence the people we connect with in a positive way. One such professional service is coaching, which benefits people with a way to access their own solutions to their own challenges.
About the Author
William Corless is the Managing Director of YellowWood.ie. YellowWood aims to improve business performance and optimise individual potential through NLP, Coaching, Training and Business Solutions. For more information check out www.yellowwood.ie
