Edith was just sixteen when she was taken to Auschwitz. Separated from her parents she was told her mother had been burned and asked to dance to the “Angel of Death” on that very night and many more nights, for which she would be rewarded with a loaf of bread that she would share with her fellow prisoners. Enduring through forced labour, the death march and famine were just some of the horrors she had to face. Yet her story is a story of strength, hope and love. In Auschwitz she learnt the importance of finding from within when nothing comes from the outside and that an enemy can take everything, but the spirit never dies.

After her liberation from the Nazi in 1945, she moved to the U.S. and became a clinical Phycologist. As a clinical psychologist, Edith runs a practice in La Jolla, California, where she assists her patients suffering from distress and pain to recognize hope and opportunities. “True freedom can only be found by forgiving, letting go, and moving on” says Dr. Eger, who spent her life to help her patients live a full and happy life beyond their problems.

She wrote her first book, The Choice, at age 90. A book about her experience but most importantly about life lessons. In her book she explains that every experience in life is a learning experience that gives us a choice on whether we want to be victims or survivors. She talks about facing our fears as fears do not serve us well; where there is fear there is no love. She also talks about the importance of forgiveness, not as a way of forgetting but as a gift to ourselves. Most importantly her story is about helping each other and remembering that there is always light at the end of the tunnel, that there is always hope and that we can have a new beginning today.

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“You would think playing the piano with no hands, that’s got to be impossible, because it’s all about your fingers, but really I just wanted to show everyone that I found my own way, and so can you.”, says Tilly who has rediscovered her love of the piano during the Coronavirus lockdown.

Tilly’s message is simple: nothing is impossible, it just requires willingness and now that we are at home, it’s the perfect time to take care of ourselves and rekindle a passion or a hobby or be intrepid and learn something new. This story is so powerful not only because it’s so inspiring, but also because it reminds us of the importance of finding the positive in every situation. Even during the Coronavirus pandemic we can still find things to cherish about: depositing happy memories in our memory bank is very important to our well-being.

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It begun with a big wave and a dive into the ocean which cracked his neck and left him paralysed. As he floated underwater, unable to move, he started to say his goodbyes and asked himself one question: “What do I leave behind? Did I, in my own way, leave anything special behind?” The feeling wasn’t great. It was bad even.

Jaap later woke up in an hospital room with a body that did not respond. He was in complete panic and scared. The human touch of Carlos, one of the nurses, who put a hand on his shoulder and told him “It’s Okay” turned out to be a powerful small gesture that meant the world to Jaap, because to him that simple attention he received from Carlos, was enough to give him the strength to realise he was still alive.

After a heavy rehabilitation period, Jaap completely turned his life around.

Jaap Bresses is a motivational speaker and author of the book “Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way”. (The book is currently being translated into English and will be available soon.)

This powerful story goes to show that everyone has in them the power of making a difference to someone else’s life just even with a touch. We can all do something special for someone just with our presence, smile or support. The beauty of this, and one of Jaap’s mottos, is that we can all do it and it doesn’t matter our age, background, finance or education.

We can’t always choose what experiences come our way, sometimes we are handled a bad hand, but we can choose how to respond to them and we can choose how we deal with our setbacks.

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Reading about other people’s inspiring stories has always motivated me to do more with my life, to try harder and to set my goals higher but they also serve me as a reminder that we are limitless, fearless and that we really are capable of anything when we set our minds to it. No obstacle big enough nor lack of something significant enough. We all are capable of amazing and unimaginable achievements no matter our physical and mental disabilities or financial and personal status.

For our first edition of Inspiring Stories we bring you the amazing Belle Hutt, a twenty-three years old young woman suffering from severe narcolepsy, who chooses to live life to the fullest proving that we are not defined by our limitations unless we choose to.

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