Valuing Who We Are

The days of January 2008 have almost passed us by. The rain has drenched the grown, the snow covers the mountain tops, and the sun tries to shine brightly through the grayish clouds. Pretty soon, it will be Valentine’s day where partners send flowers and roses valuing their significant other. Will we stand alone or will we too be valued?

In the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition for the word valued is…the regard that something is held to deserve; importance or worth. Are we and our lives held with value or worth?  Do others accept us for who and what we are?  Disability, silent or not?  Do we accept others and ourselves with the sensitivities we have as being people (with Cerebral Palsy or a learning disability)?  Even though, we have C.P., a learning disability, have scoliosis, a developmental delay, arthritis, or whatever our disability may be- WE are still men and women, young and old, of the human race.  We still want to be treated respectfully and with care and kind regard.

We want to be treated like those without a disability. We want to reach our highest potential and reach for the stars.

So, let me ask you… do  you do everything you can to move your life forward?  And if you can’t is there someone caring for you who can?  Are you not only valuing yourselves more, but the one’s around you taking steps to give you the worth, regard and importance you to deserve?  Do you feel your own worth and confidence? 

For the most part, in our hearts of hearts, it matters to us deeply  that others care.  It matters how much people around us and in the disabled community understand and value us.  It matters that we be treated with value.  What ever our disability is, we would like people in our lives, our community, our world, our schools, and in our organizations to treat us like those without a disability.

Instead of competitiveness, let us teach others around us, to turn away from needing or having it all!  Teach others how you need help, And show them the light and power of helping those who need help the most.  It is not in the material or worldly good that we fine peace and harmony and worth within our every day experience- Instead, it is in the act of giving of ourself selflessly and lending advise and a hand to though’s who need it the most. 

This Valentines, see what kind word or dead or act you personally can bring to the hearts of those with special needs.  See how you feel.  See the difference it brings to your spirit.  It takes thought and mindfulness, care and consideration.  It takes intention to do something positive.  It takes a willingness to make a difference in just one person’s life.  And it take doing ONLY one good dead to bring someone hope and joy! 

How can each and every one of us make a contribution to society.  How can we bring hope and faith to those who what it , need it, and deserve it the most?  How can we make ours and other peoples voices heard?  How can we help to move our and those other peoples lives around us forward? How can we bring peace back into our and others lives?  It is our basic right- these are the fundamentals of wiping out true discrimination. Help me to make a stand and to make a difference one person at a time! I ask you…

We need to communicate our needs, our wants, and our desires and those achievement that would truly make us happy and fulfilled, while gaining the publics respect and our world to value us as human being such as we are.  We must know within our own conscience that we are doing good, that we are making a differences.

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Choice and Destiny Lead to Control and Insidership

I thought I would spend the first blog of the new year on something a little different.  I thought I would share and mingle some positives thoughts for my life and yours! 

I have learned a great deal from the challenges that have come with my C.P.  All my life I have had to work doubly hard to get to where I am and to have created a life for myself and those I care about.  Every-time, I mastered a new skill, whether it was driving, getting a job, or building this website, my sense of control over my own life was enhanced.  "Destiny has a thousand pieces of wrapping paper over it."  I think what Armand Hammer meant by that is that out of struggle and adversity comes a great desire to achieve in every aspect of our lives.  It feels me with pride to know how much I, and each one of you has accomplished in our own lives.

The effort myself and all of us have put out in our families, our work, and our spiritual lives pays off in a hundred different ways.  A person can only succeed by putting out all that they are.  It has allowed me to lite a spark that has been burning for a very long, long time. And this light has developed into a blazing display of contentment, joy and happiness.   Knowing and feeling all of your support with me has given me a new sense of dedication.  My hope has expanded and has taken on a new meaning.  Because without any of you, I am truly nothing!

The disabled community has a special love for each other, a deep connection and link to a kinship which is un-breakable.  A bond that will last until eterinty. This connection, which is based on knowing how much we have worked to achieve.  These specific challenges may differ, but, we have seen the glory of the light, and, we know first hand how much we need God and each other to bring hope not only to each other, but to the world.  As a great American play-write said, "Our task is to rise and continue."

In everything that we do, we remind ourselves and the world not to take anything for granted.  We defy the all to common idea that nothing is worth a long term effort.  I have seen a thousand types of struggle: to deal with discrimination, physical and mental pain, and the daily task of cleaning house, taking a shower, caring for my animals and hubby, and finding within, the courage to reject every limitation other people put on myself. 

I hope, that reading this blog I have set up and written for all of you, has made your own struggles a little easier and your joy last a little long.

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