In my mindful weeks holiday I have enjoyed time to reflect on some of life's paradoxes.And then I read the wonderful open letter to the woman who called Obama a retard on twitter,Letter from Special Olympian .Please do read it, you wont regret it. Its a dignified challenge full of grace and eloquence and I felt compelled to do this short blog after reading it.
As it made me think of how often disability, illness, change in circumstance affects peoples perception of us. That somehow this difference makes us less then we were, different from others,in need of a different approach. The head tilt that says so much. Now of course that's not always bad, if the encounter is one of empathy and mutual respect.But I guess my plea is , see the person not the condition. And also remember that every experience in life makes us who we are.I loved one of the quotes from my Mindfulness class last week, "Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional". An important message to all of us i think, with the right support all challenges are surmountable,And they add to our strengths in the long run, they don't diminish them.
Reasons to be cheerful.Our lovely pup, Cara, has gone out for her first walk today. The wonders and smells of Inverleith park greeted her. En route she met a workman down a hole. As he popped up to say hello she kissed him.I hope he enjoyed it as much as she did!
This blog is about my thoughts on my own experience of breast cancer and becoming disabled, on self care, my passion for improving health and healthcare and about heartful leadership in all areas of life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The space between here and where?
I am thinking about how to capture this space between life and death. But Is it fair to call it that? After all in this space I’ve lau...
-
I told myself off today for wearing black so I put on a white T-shirt instead. A mistake! I’ve a head cold and I’m a wee bit wabbit as my gr...
-
Ben Nevis and the glory of the mountains surrounding. It’s that time again for scans and result...
-
Autumn awaits I found I hadn’t the drive to write this blog last month. We’ve had precious time with family and fitted in some well paced ...
Thanks for reposting this reminder to me to read this dignified response - as you say it could be adapted for some many things in life! Marie
ReplyDeleteYes courage and dignity is always inspiring . I hope it had the impact on the intended recipient! Thanks Marie.
ReplyDelete