Some time ago I attended a benefit concert hosted by Handy Capable (HCN), a wonderful organization that employs developmentally disabled HandyTechs. HCN refurbishes donated computers and places them with low-income families. Barbara Davis founded this nonprofit organization in 2006 with a little more than a big dream and the hope to make a difference in her community. I couldn’t agree more with the words on HCN’s website: “not only does HandyCapable provide outstanding benefits to our community, but it is one of the few high tech organizations run by a woman. Barbara has been a trailblazer with every step she’s taken.”

The concert, like anything that Barbara organizes, was a big success. Handy Capable was selected among a hundred organizations to be part of the Justin Hines and Canadian duo Ash & Bloom charity tour. The talented artists traveled over 12,000 km and gave 100% of ticket sales back to over 70 charities. Not only was this remarkable in itself but here is one more thing that made this concert even more special: the featured artist sings and dances around the stage in a wheelchair. Justin was born with Larsen Syndrome, a joint dislocation condition that creates physical obstacles and obstructions to the lungs and vocal cords.

All the songs played that night were very inspiring. We all had a great time listening to music and spending time with friends. At one point, Justin said something that has helped me get through many difficult days since the day of the concert. He said, “you need to focus on what is going well in your life and not on what you still need to accomplish”. I immediately thought of our community of Spanish learners and the journey to becoming bilingual. It is so easy to focus on how much we don’t understand and how much more we still need to learn. So tonight I want to pass this thought along to you: focus on what you already have accomplished. Take a minute to celebrate all those phrases you already know, the words you can now recognize in conversations and every single person that you got to interact with along the way.

What you still need to accomplish will come to you naturally with time. I promise.

PS: One more thing: if you have a computer at home that you no longer use, I can’t see a better home for it than with HCN! Please visit their website and consider helping out in any way you can.