I bought the Indonesian edition, though. So I'm kind of confused on how to tell you about it in English. Please correct me if I made any mistake in translating or quoting the book.
Daniel Gottlieb, the author of this book, is a quadriplegic. He has a grandson named Sam who's diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disability, a form of autism. "Letters to Sam" contains a series of heartfelt letters Mr. Gottlieb wrote to his grandson, about all the important topics.
Out of the entire book, the chapter "Menyembuhkan Luka" (healing the wounds) leave the deepest impression on me.
Before discussing the chapter, let me tell you a story from chapter "Tiga Milimetermu" (your three millimeters). One day, Mr. Gottlieb was injured. His doctor gave him brown plasters called Duoderm to cover up his wound. Mr. Gottlieb was surprised. He thought the wound needs oxygen for recovery, so shouldn't it remain open to the air? But then, the doctor said that indeed the wound needs oxygen for recovery. But the oxygen is in the blood, not in the air. All that's needed by the wound to recover is already in our body. We just need to find a way to let those nutritions do their job.
The doctor's words stay in Mr. Gottlieb's mind. That's why, in my favorite chapter, "Menyembuhkan Luka", he wrote, "Everything that's needed to heal physical wounds has been provided by the body. Oxygen, blood, nutrients, all are in our body, ready to do their job. The moment you're injured, that's the moment the healing occurs. The same goes to emotional wounds."
Above all things, we need time. When the pain doesn't go immediately, we usually blame ourselves for not being able to end it, for not being strong enough, or even for being too fragile in the first place. That's not how the pain recovers. The wounds don't follow our wish. The healing happens in its own way and its own time.
Mr. Gottlieb's pain is already healed. Not because he wants it, not because of his time calculation, and not because of extraordinary techniques. Sometimes, we don't even realize that we're already healed.
I remember, when I got hurt, I used to tell myself, "I have to get over it soon. I have to get over it soon." Well, according to Mr. Gottlieb, there's no use doing that. If we try too hard to overcome the pain, we'll only take longer time to a natural recovery. We just have to believe that someday the pain will go away. Pain is only an emotion, anyway. And there's no emotion that lasts forever.
Oh by the way, I'm not saying that "Menyembuhkan Luka" is the only interesting chapter, okay? What Mr. Gottlieb wrote about love is fascinating, too. "Find someone you love and feel the love in every pore of your body. Love that person more than yesterday. Tomorrow, love someone else again ... The longer the list of people you love with all your heart, the more you'll be happy."
For more valuable lessons ( that's recommended by Seohyun :p ), just read the book! ^^
