Do All That You Can

The death of a remarkable young man. Xolani Nkosi Johnson is the subject of Jim Wooten's book We Are All the Same: A Story of a Boy's Courage and a Mother's Love. His mother was HIV-positive, and he was born HIV-positive. He survived past his second birthday -- not the usual case -- and became a well-known figure when he addressed the international AIDS conference in Durban.

At the conclusion of his speech he said:

"When I grow up, I want to lecture to more and more people about AIDS. And if Mommy Gail will let me, [I want to lecture] around the whole country. I want people to understand about AIDS, to be careful and respect AIDS. You can't get AIDS if you touch, hug, kiss, or hold hands with someone who is infected.

Care for us and accept us--we are all human beings.

We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. We can walk, we can talk, we have needs just like everyone else. Don't be afraid of us. We are all the same!"

In the NYT piece, Wooten said, "I'm now 67, and here's this kid from whom I learned several valuable lessons and was reminded of lessons I had learned early in life and overlooked."

Wooten noted that Nkosi had a mantra: "Do all you can with what you have in the time you have in the place you are." And he declared, "I don't think he was the same. He was a very different kind of human being. I regard him as superior to me."

Is that who a Bodhisattva is?