Remember the Eagle Part 2

Take Yifan Hou for example. Think of her signature achievements. Who is Yifan Hou? She is the youngest Woman’s World Chess Champion ever. She accomplished this feat at the age of 16, beating the mark that was set by the legendary Maia Chiburanidze who won the title at the age of 17. But when did she start playing chess? At the age of 6—shades of Tiger Woods here. At 13, in 2007, she won the Chinese National Championship. The song says that we must dream the impossible dream, and that is exactly what this teenage sensation has done. You might have heard that the early bird catches the sweetest flower. Well, the early dreamers capture the prizes and break the records. Think about a big dreamer, John Wyatt, co-inventor of the bionic eyeball. He is an engineer at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This invention is a symbol of hope for millions of people with retinal-disease and age-related macular degeneration. How does it work? Well, “a tiny camera, attached to a pair of eye glasses worn by the patient gathers images such as a real eye would, then transmits them tirelessly to a titanium-encased microchip in the eyeball. The chip stimulates retinal nerve cells, which then send pictures along the optic nerve to the brain.” The inventors are hoping for FDA approval within 3 years.

Dear Youth, you were made in the image of God. Boldly go where no one has gone before. Study legends such as Edmund Hilary who conquered Mt Everest with the help of Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay. Study and analyse Roger Bannister, who in 1954, produced the epic feat of running a mile under 4 minutes. He engaged in BHT—Beyond Horizon Thinking. This brings me to Eagle Visualisation.
After Dr Bannister achieved this landmark, 200 athletes who tried before and failed, succeeded. The picture of success produces psychological, physical and physiological benefits. It inspires hope, builds confidence and releases endorphins in the brain. In the August 2010 edition of the Reader’s Digest, there is an amazing, kaleidoscopic array of stories entitled Amazing pets. There is one about a disabled bald eagle, one that cannot fly. She was discovered on a golf course and brought to the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington Washington. Volunteer Jeff Guidry, now 56, cares for this eagle. An eagle that cannot fly dies, but Freedom—the name Guidry gave to her, showed amazing resilience. He washed her, fed her soft foods through a tube. She grew into the majestic iconic bird: white feathered head, white tail and golden beak, but she just could not fly. They roamed the woods together, connected by a jess—a leather-strap binding her to his gloved hand.

But 2 years after he saved Freedom, tragedy struck. Guidry found a lump in his neck, which turned out to be stage 3 non—Hodgkin’s lymphoma. As he prepared to undergo chemotherapy treatments a friend told him about Visualisation—focussing on a positive image. Guidry visualised Freedom. 8 months after being diagnosed, he was declared free by his physician. The same day the biological radar kicked in, in what could only be described as an act of reciprocity, Guidry returned to the woods to walk with Freedom. When he began to strap her to her harness, the eagle opened her wings and wrapped them around his neck in a dramatic embrace. Remember the eagle! You must have an attitude of gratitude, become addicted to excellence, and practice nobility. I now wish in closing, to turn our attention to a teenager, Matthew Pfenninger, who had an extraordinary, Armageddonic struggle with cancer. His father was a doctor, who did not believe that God could heal his son. After surgery that removed his brain tumour, and after being told that it was successful and follow-up treatment only required radiation therapy, lightning struck twice, but in different spots. The new MRI showed four tumours: three in the back of Matt’s skull, and another at the base of the spine. It was like a tsunami had hit his family.

Surgery was ruled out, aggressive chemotherapy proved counterproductive—he was vomiting day and night and had to receive constant blood transfusions. But he prayed and he prayed. He asked his father to pray, the church to pray, the youth to pray. Now CNN Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon, gave a detailed account of the story in his stimulating book, Cheating Death. He affirms miraculous responses to prayer. The last MRI results showed that the tumours were gone, not reduced, but gone altogether. One teenager with amazing faith, and the vision of an eagle! So in conclusion, the Wright brothers were told by their father that only birds fly and if God wanted man to fly then he would have given him wings.

But they adopted eagle vision and today we have AA, CA, DELTA, SINGAPORE AIRLINES, BA, etc. Dr Timothy Greaves had a dream, but then an alcoholic predator struck his vehicle, he became a quadriplegic. However, paralysis did not destroy his dream. He went on to become a forensic pathologist. He remembered the eagle. Veera Bhajan was born in Central Trinidad. She was born without hands, today she is an attorney. She remembered the eagle. Desmond Doss was persecuted for his Sabbath keeping practices during World War II. But he rescued scores of men during a Japanese assault and received a Congressional Medal of Honor. He remembered the eagle. Dear youth, stop complaining. You might not have been born with a golden spoon but take a wooden one and paint it gold. Remember the eagle. Dream the impossible dream!