Wheels of Fire

This book is highly recommended for any person interested in learning about positive life-changing experiences. In my opinion, Ari embodies the characteristics of a superhuman being.

It is a great honour to write the introductory foreword to this book, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to publicly state my sincere appreciation and encouragement for this man’s humanity, positivity, ability, courage and vision among many other highly admirable traits. I first became aware of Ari Seirlis during the late eighties through my involvement with the Quadriplegic Association of South Africa (QASA). Since then, he became very involved in the activities of QASA and actively participated in, managed or initiated numerous commendable and empowering social initiatives under the banner of QASA. In the book, Ari describes his happy childhood and his memories of a loving family and home environment. He lived a positive, energetic and interesting life as a teenager and young adult before a fateful diving accident left him paralysed and a wheelchair user. However, he adopted a mindset of viewing his form of disability as the all-ability state-of-mind he has. His faith and persistency enabled him to rise far above his challenges, and his example inspired many others in his sphere of influence. His insightful words and thoughts about the inclusive nature of human existence brought me to a better understanding of the integrated nature of emotional, spiritual, and social intelligence. Ari is a remarkable human being who managed to implement his deep understanding of inclusive respect between human beings in his own life, friendships, and teachings. His example taught me about the value of implementing the ‘I, me, thou’ principle in all walks of life. In his lifetime, Ari met a wide variety of noteworthy and influential public figures from whom he learnt many important life lessons. For example, his meeting with Christopher Reeve inspired him to keep his faith in his cause. Morné du Plessis impressed the importance of civic leadership and courageous service on Ari. Others taught Ari that creative stimulation is often rewarded by friendships that can become mutually beneficial to many stakeholders in such friendships. Ari also learnt that a life filled with integrity and dignity can be rewarding to self and others in your life sphere. In Afrikaans it can be said Ari learnt to appreciate the value of “lewe, belewe, uitlewe” (live, experience, contribute). He also developed a strong belief in the importance of truth, fairness, and goodwill in all friendships that he formed in his lifetime. This book describes a positive approach to living with dis-ease or disability and inspiring others in the process. Ari explains how he succeeded in converting his disability into this-ability that became all-of-his-ability. He also shares some of the valuable insights and lessons he has learnt from his involvement in numerous QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA)-related initiatives. Leaders and practitioners in the fields of medicine, psychology, sociology, public service, business and non-government organisation (NGOs) among many other fields, can gain many valuable insights and lessons from reading this book. This book is highly recommended for any person interested to learn about positive life-changing experiences. In my opinion, Ari embodies the characteristics of a superhuman being.

Dr Johan “Loubie” Loubser