Friday, December 3rd, 2010 by Karen Lynn
On Monday, November 22nd, I was invited to be part of a respected body of people who talked For/With/ And About disabilities. It was a well received event. Hosted by the IWOSC.org( Independent Writers Of Southern California.) Where one of the first questions asked, of us was… what made you decide to become a writers? And when did you know? Each of the four individuals in order asked, answered, including myself. Each person responded. And each, because their disability was/is different, or, was writing about a disability or personal family member having one, each answered in accord.
Personally, to be ask to be on a panel such as this; so quickly, was quiet exciting- it was quiet stimulating, and quiet awe inspiring! The topic, shushed the audience in amazement. As “we” the panel, were not able to talk about why we inspire others.
I believe and accept that the inspiration is in the act of doing, conquering, and achieving. It is in the believing in oneself when others don’t! But most important, it is in the use of the written word. It is in the how we express ourselves, our visions, our dreams , and, our insights as writers.
Tags: Public Speaking
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, November 1st, 2010 by Karen Lynn
“Healing should be a loving human interchange, not a business transaction.” Dr. Hunter Patch Adams said in one of his interviews. Why is that? Why have we taken this stance? And why have we become a society who doesn’t care anymore? Have you ever thought about this, or if you have participated in this kind of destructive thinking, why is that so? There have always been ruins and catastrophes throughout our centuries, but never to the extent and scale that we see it today.
We have become a society wrapped up in greed, materialism, and self-indulgence. We do not know how to give of our selves or be selfless. We do not know the first thing about passing it forward, or helping those who need it. We have lost the meaning of warmth and benevolence. And, we have become cold, callous, and uncaring. We have mutilated our dignity, and, we have lost our focus.
What has happened? Why have we forgotten this? And, what is it in our innate nature that makes all the past 5 generations believe in what we do today? Have we been born and inbreeded with an impulse to lie, hurt, or harm others; only to get ahead ourselves?
It has always bothered me how people like this come across and get ahead. It has also always bothered me how these people come across with this syrupy, sweet, sincerity; yet are capable of gross sabotage preying on the weak and those under them. They don’t think twice about anything. They use their status, power, and leadership, to compete further only to get ahead them selves! And, they take away any chance or possibility to make someone else’s life meaningful or memorable in a positive way. These people have no reluctance, conscious, or mindfulness when it comes to anyone else but themselves. It doesn’t seem to bother, hinder, or concern them that when someone less fortunate is put in harms way- These people, within our past generations, have little to no consciousness in hurting; wounding, ill-using and treating others only to get ahead themselves first. Despite everything, and withholding all from everyone else, they continue to live their lives in the manor which “THEY” see fit. Without understanding the effect they have made to society.
So Gesundheit and Whispers of Hope have worked throughout the past forty years to change that. They like the Dr. Kramer’s, and the Al Gilberts of this world have never forgotten the human aspect of the healing arts. They have not forgotten how to touch other people’s lives with a sincere smile, a kind word, or giving from their heart with nothing asked in return.
“At Gesundheit,…they…see deep, intimate friendships between patient and doctor.” Why then, can’t we be mindful enough to do that? Why can’t we begin to break down all these dishonest, harmful barriers in this generation that have such a deep human effect on ours lives? Why can’t we begin to heal our planet with kind and genuine words? Why can’t we be honest and admit that we have made a gross wrong step in taking humanity out of the whole person and the holistic healing process.
Tags: Healing Arts and mankind
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, October 25th, 2010 by Karen Lynn
Most of my life, unlike “normal” people, I have had to mend myself back to health numerous times. It was not only when I was an infant but throughout. Needless to say, it has been extremely difficult to convince medical authority I knew what I was talking about. If the tests on the medical report didn’t say it, then what I was saying didn’t prove a single thing. The only solution, even though the doctors won’t admit they are doping us up, all they want is to prescribe medication because they, themselves, didn’t know the answer, nor, did they know how to cure the symptoms and treat the whole person.
They themselves, with all the medical training and book learned advice, are more at a loss then they care to admit. If there isn’t a drug to push or a drug to subside the manifestations, then some kind of surgery, MRI, or Cat scan is forced, pressured, or urge upon us in an un-diplomatic way telling the patient … “how they CARE about the well being of your health.” But how about treating the WHOLE person!
Recently, I have been able to restore my pancreas back to health; when a licensed, Family, General practitioner; was ready to shoot me up with diabetic medicine when I wasn’t even diabetic. I knew imminently, what I needed to do for myself! No, doctor, was going to belittle me, or dictate how I should live. She was not going to induce drugs just for the sake of it. Nor, was she going to destroy my own confidence in myself. Neither was she going to deprecate my worth to build her own self up, by saying…”My way has not worked…”
This has been a long tradition throughout my entire life. When I was younger, doctors wanted to carve up my disabled hand and good leg like a turkey. If I allowed this, I would have two legs that were deformed and a hand that would be hanging by a string, useless, and worse than it is. If I hadn’t cared about myself to the degree which I do, and spoke up for myself fighting traditional medicine, I would be far worse off and sicker today, than I actually am.
Some how, some way; I have been blessed with a gift to know what is truly right for me, and my body. I some how always distinctively know when something is or is not right. Some how my body and being knows when something is not kosher. That is when a wave of feelings, my six sense, and my intuitiveness self takes over. I salute and stand up to attention with a perceived perception that makes me stop and think. That has kept me from listening to un-wise doctors, and medical disasters.
Whether disabled or not, doctors seem to over-step their boundaries. They seem to think that because we are disabled physically, we don’t know a thing. They seem to think that the “test” knows all. And, they seem to think that it is their job to control our lives and ruin our bodies. The medical profession, drunk on its own power, is unwilling to accept alterative medicine and healing not taught in a traditional setting, nor, are they willing to look at other attributes or classifications that bring comfort and true holistic healing to the person needing it.
And so, I am here to tell all of you; that this young woman has added forty years to her life. This woman’s gene pool was destined for hardening of the arteries, strokes, and diabetes. This woman; since the age of twenty, suffered needlessly; unknowing her pancreas could not and would not digest foods properly. Yet, yield and produced health and well-being. And, this lady, stood steadfast for all these years till she found the answer.
Tags: Medical Experiences
Posted in Living With a Physical Disability, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, October 25th, 2010 by Karen Lynn
What do you do on a raining afternoon when it’s cold outside besides sitting in front of the fireplace, dappering at the computer, talking to a close friend, listening to music, watching a good movies, giving oneself a facial, and playing a board games to occupy ones time.
I like to make health food shakes, loaded with bananas, apples, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. In my opinion, that is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon like this. It is yummy to the tummy, and delicious, too! Loaded with vitamins, minerals, and nutrient and gives me a spring to my step. And , a vigor to my bounce. That is what I did for fun today! I even got to lick my fingers off. Um, um good!
This is an enormous treat for me. Especially after many decades of being challenged with many food allergies, and not being able to eat much of anything that I liked. So, to do something as simple, sweet, non-threatening, and health-giving; it brings me a joy I can barely express. As I sit here typing to you, I am very happy, content and relaxed. How about you?
Tags: Nutrition
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, May 14th, 2010 by Karen Lynn
In the last few months, as I have struggled with inner ear problems, and have been bed ridden and house bound, I have had a lot of time to think. I have come to the conclusion that the greatest waste that our men, women, children encounter in our society is the lack of participation in our lives. I am very passionate about these thoughts and feelings, because first hand, I have seen human beings turn their backs on others. They are more interested in helping oneself get ahead than helping advance a cause of a particular group. Every time I think about the unfairness of these inequities, and the time of day by day empowered experiences wasted, it hurts and drains my spirit in a way I almost cant explain. Where is the kindness? Where is the help we need to help ourselves? And where is the understanding of what we are really trying to do?
Isn’t it awful that we have to spend a lifetime proving ourselves over, and over, and over again because men and women in and out of power think that because we have a disability we aren’t capable of making the run! It is a non-verbal, uphill battle, of delay and deal making which never gets us anywhere, fast. Thus, we are pronounced to be…mentally deficit, with scattered thoughts, and unrealistic goals, and why? I ask you why? Because, someone in power is threatened by what we want to do. No where in my life, on the internet, or blogs has ever cared enough to talk about just this. So I am. I am the rebel with a cause! We are meekly by-passed, ignored, and forgotten. Nobody wants to deal with US. The full and equal participation of our or any disabled community in public life is squandered by prejudices and limited ways of thinking which was designed to hold people back, lock them far away in a closet, and leave them to rot on a mere social security check for the rest of their lives. They don’t want to deal with us. They don’t want to make any sacrifices, and they don’t want to spend their week-end trying to help us, help ourselves. It is so much easier to spend time on the most sever and obvious cases which only want an ice cream cone now and then. People would be shocked at the amount of bargaining, sacrifice, and cunning required to deal with the very organizations which claim their purpose is to help.
When I am labeled “mentally retarded” on three separate occasions, when the speech impaired person have there talents ignored, and when a person who has spent eight years proving their abilities, spent a hundred thousand dollars for a doctorate, is told he belongs in a workshop- something is very wrong!
We need to “…look in the mirror and change our ways.” We need to reach out and help- we need to replace expert directed thinking with self created choices. We need to overhaul the way people treat others.
Tags: Sharing with Others
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 by Karen Lynn
“The Promise of the Park”
Friday, February 5th, 2009
REVIEW by Professor of American History Sean Dineen, MA, Kean University, NJ
The history of disability inclusion began earlier than you think, although the issue has always been a struggle. We in the Disability Community have spent our lives watching the struggle for inclusion unfold, bit by bit, inch by inch, and sometimes, by the grace of God, triumph. It is very easy to fall into the misunderstanding that no one was really thinking about “our issues” prior to 1973. It was my pleasure to learn that this is not true at all.
I recently observed Theatre in Motion’s musical play “The Promise of the Park,” a fetching, time traveling tale about the first American park open to everyone, New York City’s Central Park, and its maverick first Architect in Chief, Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. “The Promise of the Park” is well-researched and handsomely written by Ms. Leslie Fanelli (Artistic Director and Founder of Theatre in Motion). The performance I saw was engagingly fresh and exciting, juxtaposed to the fact that Central Park’s history germinated in the nineteenth century.
It took sixteen years to build and officially open the park in 1873. This was a full century before the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which laid the foundation for equality in education and physical accessibility in government buildings in the twentieth century and beyond. In the nineteenth century, Mr. Olmsted and his co-creator, Calvert Vaux, designed Central Park as largely physically accessible via the use of ingenious landscape architecture—specifically, the park’s sunken transverse roads. These sunken roads separated “the frantic zeal of the cross-town traffic” from “the rustic beauty” and patrons traveling about the park. In fact, in the original 1857 design called “The Greensward Plan,” Olmsted and Vaux had pointed out that the transverse roads would allow for the inclusion and safety of people with disabilities—and ladies (in big, hoop skirts)! Olmsted and his two sons would go on to design thousands of American landscapes, and in 1893, Olmsted, Sr., designed the grounds for the spectacular Chicago World’s Fair. He also designed breathtakingly beautiful grounds for a number of hospitals. In this arena, he was brilliantly ahead of his time because he espoused bright, air-filled treatment rooms, in place of the stark “cells” of the era. Plus, of course, he believed his lovely grounds to be naturally therapeutic. It is ironic that he spent his last few years after acquiring dementia in the McLean Psychiatric Hospital, where he had previously designed the becalming scenery.
Throughout his career, the genius landscape architect Olmsted saw the need to use public spaces to bring people together. In a time when any concern for the non elite was dismissed as radical, or dispensed with the disdain of paternalistic disengagement, a public park for all humankind to share—black and white, rich and poor—was unheard of. Even before he sustained his decided, permanent limp in a frightening carriage accident, he understood the need to integrate those with disabilities into his parks, and by extension, the wider world. In fact, as Ms. Fanelli’s play reveals, he designed the first wheelchair accessible trail to the top of Mount Royale in Canada in the 1870’s.
The play is executed in a whimsical, yet compelling manner, like all of Ms. Fanelli’s vibrant works. In “The Promise of the Park,” she is director, actress, and singer—in addition to being the playwright. Her teenage persona (along with her friend and conscience, “Amy”) is played with zest and humor. Ms. Amelia Fowler as “Amy” is endearing, piquant, and funny in her role. In one scene, they are having a picnic in the park when, to their disbelief, they encounter Olmsted himself, who has traveled through time to see his beloved park in the twenty-first century. Initially, they cannot believe that Olmsted, whom they have never heard of, is anything more than an actor or confused soul, but he is able to convince them that he is, in fact, Central Park’s first Architect in Chief. That accomplished, the three share an exciting journey back into the park’s creation, after which, they time travel forward into the present to better understand and heed the critical environmental concerns facing the world now.
I would be remiss not to mention Bill Houpt at the piano—a fine, keyboard “one man orchestra.” He not only plays the pleasing accompaniment, but plays the sound effects, as well.
The lion Olmsted, brought to life by Mr. William Dembaugh, experiences great wonder at this new world. He believes a jet plane to be a new bird, and the tall buildings on the perimeter of the park to be incredible structures, especially because in 1873, there were virtually no buildings surrounding the park—and certainly none as tall as today’s skyscrapers! He proceeds to teach and mentor the two young people on how to protect this park treasure that he has given to everyone. “The First American People’s Park.”
As the mighty protagonist Olmsted, William Dembaugh is humbly resplendent. His exquisite, tenor voice captures the beauty of Olmsted’s life and work. The entrancing music, created by an artistic team headed by Ms. Susan Mondzak, is delightful and, when needed, dramatically engaging. “The Things I See” and “Back in 1873” are bracing, musical stand-outs. With regard to the musical drama, Mr. Dembaugh is careful to portray Olmsted not as an archaism, but rather, a forward-thinking, inclusive artist.
Yes, indeed, the history of disability inclusion began earlier than you think.
Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.—a man of his time, a patriarch before we knew what that really meant.
Theatre in Motion is an award-winning, professional, non-profit theatre company that features intergenerational creative and performing artists with and without disabilities—serving intergenerational audiences with and without disabilities via original dramatic and musical productions.
Theatre in Motion’s New Music CD, “The Promise of Central Park,” is available at CDBaby:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/theatreinmotion
Tags: achievements
Posted in Media and Commuications Convayer, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 by Karen Lynn
It is now three weeks since I have returned home, and 11 days into the month of June. Where I live, the June gloom has covered the skies until about 1:00 p.m. pretty much every afternoon. I have gotten back into my daily routine, and I have been happily writing. Yesterday afternoon, I started an article that will be published in next months Audacity Magazine and before this article, I had two others published. The two older articles, now, have already been posted. One on Audacity Magazine, online- the other, on ldonline.org I welcome you to read them and comment on here if you like.
From where I came from, I never really thought that this desire of mine would have come true to fruition. As I can remember how difficult writing was for me. I could not write a complete sentence with my dyslexia and learning disability, nor could I punctuate in the correct way grammatically. It was a daily struggle which brought tears to my eyes many a times.
Now, when I write, I am truly, amazed that these words are pouring out from my mind and heart. I give thanks for my ability to write and reach others in the way that I am doing.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, May 29th, 2008 by Karen Lynn
Since I last wrote, I have crossed the ocean and flew over three thousand miles to address the Historical Society at Kean University, as well as advocate in a friends defense. I took a beautiful, scenic train ride up to Massachusetts, where the vistas captured a quiet peace within myself. It laulled me into a place of traquility where no one could distub me or my oneness.
I was away from home for three weeks, and while in New Jersey, I received an email asking me to come back to Kean University next year to speak to an even bigger audience of individuals and professionals. How sweet the sound…
Thus, I go from here to inspire and empower, and to reach more of all of you…
Untill next time…
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Saturday, May 17th, 2008 by Karen Lynn
The canopy shines down upon me with it’s bright beautiful light, spurring me on with its powder blue sky’s to keep on keeping on. Its warm, soft fibers wrap me up in a comfortable, soothing blanket where I have been blessed to have people who care about me, and can guide me, and help me, and lead me to problem solve, and fix this 2 month old frustration and dilemma I’ve been having to maintain and fix my blog; so that I can continue to write my entry’s to all of you.
It is indeed a blessing, because I was beginning to wonder if I would eVER get this thing working again. I am so connected to writing and sharing, and touching other individuals lives who have Cerebral Palsy, a learning disability, and aNY other kind of developmental delay; that I do not know what I would do if I couldn’t write, connect, or reach out in the way that I do.
Thus, I want to thank all of you for being patient with me as I keep moving forward to make this blog and my site the best you expect it to be. I welcome all your suggestions and kind words, as I continue to fight the good fight and continue to speak up for the rights of people with disabilities and advocate on your behalf!
I will climb the highest mountain, and speak the truths as I see them. It has been well over thirty years since I have started on this path and no one, no where, no how, will stop me from empowering and inspiring and leading the way to real solidarity in the world we live in today. We must forge forward, together, in unison. We must do this by continuing to break down the walls and the berries that separate and divide us. We must keep our chins up, and face our foes head on, and we must continue our battles in a constructive, positive, reaffirming way. We will succeed, and keep succeeding, and conquering, but ONLy if we lend our hands to another.
If you want to wage a war against discrimination, or in any mater- we must all work together in partnership and truly heLP each other across the board like I was today, and yesterday, from a fellow CPer."?))))))))) If we all find it within ourselves to help or lend a helping hand to one another we will all better ourselves.
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Sunday, March 16th, 2008 by Karen Lynn
The cold of winter has left for the season, as well as the hearts and arrows of Valentine’s Day. They have been left behind by the many moments and minutes and weeks gone by. If you haven’t seen any entries from me going up lately on this blog for the past two months, it has been because I have been literally and physically jumping hurtles to cope and deal with people who are "EXPerts" in their own fields, who think they know it all- about EVERything!
Some people have suggested that I rewrite all of my articles with a preface. While others, tell me to get Goggles help, and still other technicians offer little or no suggestions at all. What then is a poor, sincere girl like me suppose to do?
All and all, I have continued on the straight and narrow. In the last couple of months, I have not only been making arrangements to fly back to the east coast, but I have begun the process of trying to expand my visibility. I have secured a speaking engagement for the historical society at Kean University. This is just another goal that I have been working towards to empower myself and others. Because of my Dear and devoted friend, professor Sean Dineen, this speaking event has been made possible.
We will be making a video of my presentation which I hope to share and make available to all my readers and compatriots. I am really looking forward to this trip-in meeting new people, making new contact, and expanding my own personal circle of friends. I await anxiously to spread my story and book to those who have no idea of who Karen Lynn is.
I do this because I find a deep reward in giving of myself and of sharing my life with others. I have experienced so much throughout my entire life span; that I feel that this is the least I can do. I feel that this is the only way to give back to the world and community, and to stay personally connected with each and everyone of you! It also gratifies me in surmountable ways, of which, has profound effect on my life, and gives me an energy that revitalizes my spirit. All of you have either watched me personally, or experienced for yourself, what daily struggles and challenges are like. Weather living with a disability or not, we all have moments in our daily affairs which we have to cope and deal with. But if we have a friend to turn to… it makes life a whoLE lot easier to deal with these difficulties effectively.
I share with all of you, so that we all are not alone, and so we all have each other to turn to!
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
|
RSS Updates
