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Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 13th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2010> Superman of life—Gregory Burns from Singapore
Walking around the world with the disabled body; boundless world in the free mind
      Gregory Burns was struck with polio when he was only six month old and could not walk ever since. However, refusing to be subjugated to his physical disability, he challenged all types of sports activities. He not only won the gold medal of swimming in the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, but also became a world record keeper of three sports in the 1996 Atlanta . He loved to paint since young, and never thought that he would be a painter when he grew up. He once came to Taiwan to learn painting, and had stayed there for around five years. His paintings were exhibited in multiple exhibitions. He wrote his life stages into the book called “Things taught by my life,” hoping to let others know that, “Everyone is imperfect. You might be born into a disabled condition, but you are at the same time given more courage. We should look at what we own ant not things we lack.” He had the unyielding courage, strong tenacity, and lasting willpower.
 
 
The storm of life could happen at any time
      Gregory Burns was born in 1957 at the Washington D.C. He was the second child of his family. Though his father was a diplomatic business agent, they moved to Jerusalem , Israel . At that time, the Middle East was in a state of political instability. For the safety, they were allocated in the U.S. embassy.
      In the 50s, Israel was facing civil and international conflicts, which was both in tension with neighboring countries and wrecked havoc with the polio virus. Many children were died of or rendered paralyzed due to the disease. Since his brother Arthur and he were injected with the vaccine, his parents did not forbid them to play with the nine-year-old boy who was paralyzed by polio and currently under medical intervention. The boy especially liked to play with Gregory Burns and his brother, since they were the only children who would play with him. However, few weeks later, he had a fever and cried on the bed at one night. Probably because he was young and had little resistance against the virus, he was still diagnosed as victim of polio despite of the vaccination.
 
 
As long as your heart is not constrained, your vision will be of no boundary
      After returning to his home country, he sought for treatment from many doctors and experts, and also accepted various resources provided by relatives and friends. Unlike other children who could naturally learn to crawl, stand and walk, Gregory had to readjust his breath and learned to sit still; when he grew older, he had to put on heavy braces, learning to walk step by step. As he watched children at his age that could run at their free will, he was not only confronted with physical pain but also psychology blow. He felt unfair. But he endured the pain and strived hard for making himself stand steady during practices and rehabilitation, hoping that one day he could move without constraint.
      Among various rehabilitation activities, he felt especially energetic about swimming. To everybody's surprise, swimming later became a skill that helped him mount to the peak of his life. Polio caused his leg muscles to shrink gradually, but swimming was the best way to strengthen and stretch Gregory's extremities and body muscles. Therefore, his doctor recommended that his parents let him swim. Every week, he could attend the swimming rehabilitation. Afterwards, he continued undergoing physical treatment and learned how to crawl, to use crutches, to keep balance, and to live with his disability. Around the age four, he could use crutches and braces freely, and play with other children.
 
The parents who learn to let go, and help their children to stand firmer in their life journey

      At the age of five, Gregory's mother decided to let him go to school and to experience group life. In the beginning, he went to a special education school, where the environment and classmates' idleness made him gloomy and often cry in the bed. Luckily, his mother understood him and wished that he could study in “normal” schools, experiencing colorful life as other common kids. However, there was no elevator in the new school, so he must walk by himself from the first floor to the classroom on the second floor. And thus, the whole summer before the school started, he practiced climbing up the stairs every day. Worn down by heavy braces and injuries, his mother encouraged him not to give up and said, as long as he could make a breakthrough this time, nothing could beat him in the future. At the first day of school, his mother proudly took him to school. Influenced by his mother's pride, he stood up tall in front of the principle and walked on his own from the first floor to the second floor. Since then, he never went to other special education schools.
      Because of his special health needs, he got more attention and dotage. Worrying that he would become arrogant, his mother always treated him strictly and impartially. Overprotection was also a concern for his mother, fearing that he would not tolerate failure and frustration. So when there were things that he could accomplish on his own, his family would not give him special treatment. Growing up in such family had cultivated him to form a disposition of independence, making him find his way of survival and coincidentally led to a surprising success.
 
 
Doubts about himself was the biggest obstacle in his life
      From five to nine years old, his father moved back to Paris again for the job. Barrier-free environment and equipment in Europe was popular. In such environment, his talents for painting and adventuresome spirits for sports gradually germinated. Inheriting from his father, Gregory showed great interests in painting and calligraphy. Since the second grade, he yielded numerous creations and even won the silver prize in a painting contest. At that time, he found that as long as he determined to do something, he would get good grades.
      He was a person who loves trying new things and adventuring. He made use of different tools, including braces, crutches, wheels, skateboards, automatic cars, and motor tricycle, etc, just to move freely. Because of these auxiliary tools, he could search for more opportunities to work. He had babysitted, weeded, and did part-time job at McDonald's. Occasionally other people showed pity on him, but he smiled back and used actions to prove his ability. He knew that as long as his mind was not impaired, his world would be boundless as the sky.
 
 
Discard other people's judgmental eyes and look at one's merits

      He felt like a superman in water, where he did not need to put on a heavy brace. Neither was he constrained by movement nor the limits of height, thus, swimming had always been his favorite sport. Besides swimming, he was also expert at baseball, football, soccer and other games. Being the manager of basketball and baseball teams, he even won the annual best player award. The most important of all, he could travel with the team around Europe where there was a game.
      In the beginning, he was shamed of crawling from the dressing room to the pool. On one occasion, he was playing around the lake with his girlfriend and his family. He was worried about the shame generated from the crawling. However, the uncle of his girlfriend walked over, held him and threw him into the lake. He suddenly realized that no one noticed how he approached the lake—all in all, all the embarrassment can from his fear and self-handicapping. Since then, he treated himself as a common personal and learned not to worry about others.
 
 
Insufficient preparation is more terrifying than challenges
      In 1975, he attended the preparatory class at Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania. He took many painting courses, such as oil painting, Japanese calligraphy, fashion design, spray painting, photography and animation, etc. Later, he moved with his father to California after his retirement and studied at University of California . He soon picked up his interests in sports and represented his school to compete in swimming contests around the world. He hit multiple records in international swimming contest. In 1997, he received the honor of the US Sports Academy Athlete of the Year.
      Besides swimming, he also took the challenge of mountain climbing. As breathtaking and dangerous as it might be, his dauntless courage helped him traverse the Grand Canyon . He spent 13 hours going out of the canyon relying only on the crutches to finish the journey. He assured himself again that everything could be done at his will.
      In 1983, he competed in the marathon game in Honolulu , Hawaii . Unlike others who competed in the game on their feet, he could merely move on with the crutches. After 16 hours of persistence, he completed the fixture of 42.2 km . In the next 20 years, his footsteps went around the world. He said, “Before the adventure, I would be afraid, too. But I was worried about my inadequate preparation, and not the potential failure.”
 
 
Swimming and painting are the source of power saving his life

      Before graduating from college, he experienced the darkest age of his life. He not only lost his love but also the qualification of being a part of the national team, despite that he spent one year practicing swimming. Sinking into the dilemma, he diverted his attention to excessive painting, swimming and travelling. Fortunately, he stuck to his belief—there will be a better tomorrow and not to be overwhelmed by the negative feelings— in spite of his emotional depression. Because of the power of painting and swimming, albeit in the ever-changing environment, he did not obviate from the right course of life too far.
      In 1984, he travelled to Taiwan and delved into calligraphy, block print, engraving, and Chinese art history. For Gregory, the first time coming to Taiwan was a series of surprise to him. Soft rain, large-scaled sites of construction, cramped aisles, and jam-packed motorcycles all made him feel lonely, miserable and he missed the life in his hometown. One day, he unexpectedly changed his thoughts and thought that, if he wanted to live a better life in a new place, he had to let go his past and limitations, and to blend into the society and the people. He made up his mind and named himself with a brilliant name—Jing-hui Po , meaning glory and splendor. He threw himself into all kinds of courses and learning with endeavor. Moving back and forth among different museums, he met his mentor Liang Dan-Feng and fell in love with this lovely island. He had the idea of living in Taiwan for good because he had found the place that consoled his mind and unearthed his gifts.
 
 
“Different power”
      In 1985, he started his journey alone. Over the period of 16 months, he travelled across China , Nepal , India , and Pakistan . Once, he reached the remote mountain area in India , where residents there did not speak English. People there were curious about his braces. He then showed them the braces. By gesticulation, they got along well and transcended the language barrier. When he travelled to China , at a train station, he was surrounded by the Chinese who were curious about his golden hair and blue eyes, and even the policeman came. To his surprise, the policeman helped him passing the crowd and leading him to a waiting lounge. When the train came, the policeman carried his luggage and found someone to “escort” him to board the train.
      During the course of travelling, he came to realize that he did not need to feel ashamed for his disability, since being “different” could be a kind of positive power enabling him to penetrate the barrier between people and to make friends with strangers.
      In 1992, Gregory attended the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics as a member of the US national team. It was both a surprise and a challenge to him. He spent nine months on intensive training, and finally won a gold medal of 100-meter breaststroke in the Paralympics with a new world record. In 1996, he was elected as a member of the US national team, competing in the Atlanta Paralympics. At the age of 38, he amazingly set three world records. Living up to his ideal in the field of sports, he moved on the next stage of his life.
      Back to Singapore , he left his company and the regular office job. He became a writer and a public speaker. In 1998, he began his full-time art career, and devoted his time to painting, writing and delivering speech as well as a series of art exhibition.
 
 

Enjoy the moment while you live
      For Gregory Burns, the longest day of his life was the day that he lost his mother. He lapsed into memories grievously and regretted that he did not accompany his mother while she still needed him. Sighing with emotion and thinking that he did not have chance to do enough things for her, he started to ponder the meaning of loss and eternity. Until he saw his ageing father, he suddenly realized that if he did not learn the lesson, he would again face the emptiness of losing his father. Once again, his mother taught him to enjoy the moment while he lives and concentrates on things at hand.
      Along the way, he learned to see through himself, to get to know himself, to understand, to make use of his skills, and to bring his talents into full play. When confronted with challenges, he always showed the unyielding courage, the unsubmissive tenacity, and the persistent perseverance. And hence he could enjoy the pleasure and achievement of doing a triathlon, swimming, hand-cycling, hiking, long distance racing, and diving; he could stand proudly on the platform and present his experience as a proof of the power of life; he could generate courage in his imperfect body to face his life difficulties.