Smile Pinki DVD-- I watched it

My "Smile Pinki" DVD came in the mail yesterday. I have been waiting for months to watch this. I can vividly remember last year when this documentary won an Oscar because I was also impatiently waiting for our LOA to adopt Tyson. I had never seen his "before" photos of his unrepaired lip, and I had no idea what to expect regarding the wideness of his palate. For those who don't know, "Smile Pinki" is a documentary backed by Smile Train that depicts the journey of people who travel to a city in India to get their cleft lips and palates repaired--for free.

This documentary is amazing, and I think every human being needs to see it, and here's why: I firmly, 100% believe that people are selfish and greedy and need to learn compassion. I am included. I was completely convicted while watching the documentary.

You see, I tell my students that it doesn't matter what we look like on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts. I believe that and I try to live it. I can look at children with cleft lips, and it doesn't phase me at all.

But then I saw him. The documentary shows a young man, maybe a teen, with a protruding cleft lip--the most severe I've ever seen, even in pictures. I believe the documentary said his nose was protruding 2 inches. I gasped. I hope I was feeling compassion, and I think I was, knowing what kind of life he had been leading. But I was also shocked. I am laying it out here because I remembered how people feel when they see a child with a cleft. I felt the reaction.

How can I expect people to not react to cleft children just because I don't? I have to remember, I have a very vested interest in the subject. However, if it's something I believe, it doesn't mean I don't have weaknesses. I know how far I've come in the time that I've been learning about facial and cranial deformities, and I know how much research and exposure it has taken to get me to that point. And I'm still on my journey.

And this is why I think everyone needs to see this documentary. My daughter watched it with me, and she ignored the subtitles. I was reading them to her, and she said, "Mom, I don't need them. I know what's going on just by watching the people." Enough said.

It's only 45 minutes. If you want a copy, you go to the Smile Train website and request one. A donation is nice too, but not required. I've heard it said, "We all have special needs." This is true, we are all unique individuals. Compound that with a facial deformity--something everyone can see on the outside. I don't think any of us can quite comprehend what that must be like unless we live it. But what we can do is have compassion for those who face challenges beyond what we understand. One of my favorite songs is "Mighty to Save" and the first line is, "Everyone needs compassion..." It is so true.

As I watched, I thought about Tyson's lip repair in China, and I wept. I wish I had been there for him when he woke up. I hope the doctors treated him as lovingly as the doctors in this documentary. I am so thankful for organizations like Smile Train and Operation Smile. I don't know who is responsible for Tyson's lip repair. I hope someday I'll know.