The Joy of Being a Handicapped

Being labeled as a disable is a big challenge for us to face. Imagine in a world where able people freely do what they wanted to do that exert physical efforts. Then one person stepped in without enough physical prowess to prove that he is able. This made a separate label between an able person and a disable one.
The good thing is that label is simply a label, not of great importance. Like a sign post along the road, once you drive past that sign post along your way, you won't memorize it seriously for hours because it is not your priority while focusing your attention on driving that moment.
Being a disable is not really a disable. In fact, polite people prefer to call it handicap to emphasize that there is no disability exist to a physically defected person; but only a different kind of ability. Surprisingly, in this kind of physical differences, many handicapped excelled amazingly. They have proved to the world how a different ability, unique from the world of able, could create an amazing impact of creativity and accomplishment.
This is the joy of being a handicapped. We have our own gifts of creativity and ability that when use with courage and persistence, the able people would be inspired and can even make a difference to their able lives! It's okay if we felt proud being a handicapped, not because we are endowed with unique capabilities but because being as such could also be a blessing for others.

How Can I Accept my Unacceptable Disability?

     By accepting it.

     But it's hard to accept my disability because it gives me so much painful struggles almost everyday! Now, how can I accept it?

     By accepting it.

    The struggles that we have been dealing with almost everyday as handicapped are as real as physically normal people can ever imagined. They are as real as the sun's existence! There is a real struggle of adjusting and adopting to our environment where the presence of able people reminds us of our disabilities.

     There is a struggle of craving to be understood, to be accepted and treated as one of the normal people, to be cared of, and if the world is willing- to be loved unconditionally. And there is this constant struggle within of wanting to be other than what we have externally.

    Although we have different conditions of our handicaps, our struggles are rolled into one. The pains we have been through are all the same. But there is the beauty of the sameness of these. It is the fact that we can have the same willingness to accept our disabilities.
 
    Some have already accept it and are now living life with great satisfaction and peace. But probably some have not yet able to step out from the label of being handicapped, and is therefore struggling still.

    As I watched my co-differently able people excelled either in sports, arts and in any field, I began to realize that we are all the same: able and disable. That the outer image we have has not much to do in the efforts of excelling. And that it is the inner image or true self that is the only responsible on how we can be what we want to be.

    However, our inner self can not motivate its power if we can not accept our outer self, our physical differences as part of us too. Our non acceptance is blocking our "true self" to be revealed into a creative, able human being. It hinders to create a harmony within, which is supposed to be there in our daily lives.
Willingness to accept what we have physically is a kind of total surrender that would end our constant struggle. The kind of struggle that may make us "a survivor" in the end but truly wounded. And a kind of wound that can turn one into a miserable, angry person instead of of being a joyful and amazingly creative human being.

    To face the fact that there is really physical difference existed is more than a cure from struggling painfully. In it comes peace. Be aware that it is already there given, no return and no exchange. And humbly accept it. Because the good thing is that our physical is simply an outer shell, just like an outer package. Not really of great importance. Although it is the mind-setting of our culture that made some people give much importance to the outer appearance; it does not mean that we are what we appeared externally as if that's all there is. It is the content of that package that matter most where the real power within resides and is able anytime. That's the real you!

The Power beyond Disabilty

     It was in 1977 when polio disease hit my country, Philippines. Many of the infants and even the adults were affected with it. At 9 months old, I was not spared. I had undergone comatose for a week. When I woke up, my parents found out that my right arm never move while my left hand freely grasping in the air every time I cry. And it was not until two years old when my parents observed that my left leg went limp. I was one of the lucky few, the doc told my parents, because most of the babies in the hospital where I was confined were seriously affected. Their legs were totally paralyzed. One of them was my schoolmate in my elementary years. She went to school with a nanny to carry her everyday.
 
     Handicap, disable or whatever label that anyone feels comfortable to use would still brings one to visualize someone's inability to perform physically like normal people do. For a handicap like me, it was not an easy reality to face as it is. Like for instance, during my high school years, I wanted to join the sports especially basketball for women. I envied how players ran, passed the ball skillfully, jumped and shot it in the ring. And landed on their feet with poise and satisfaction. Wow! I couldn't do that without stumbling on the ground and wait for a helping hand to help me get up!
 
     I saw able people how lucky they are in their limitless physical abilities. Most of my early years, I used to watch with envy how they walked with poise, ran in full speed, climbed trees without second thoughts, jumped high with energy, carried heavy baggage as if it's part of their weight (my sis is skillful to that) and carried their bodies without difficulties.

     This ensued constant struggle and pain as I compared the differences between the able and me, making myself missed to discover the power beyond my handicap. Blinded with so much struggle of refusing to accept being a handicap had made my life miserable, inactive and even filled with anger.

     But then there were times when I just stopped struggling or refusing to accept being me. Maybe because I got bored struggling or just engrossed with some activities sometimes. Well, at some point in my life, I can find peace when I stop my non-acceptance. There I can able to find time painting and expressed my creativity in an amazing way. And sometimes wrote some poems and even short stories( stored in my shoebox before but now were sent to friends).

     Acceptance is the best way for me to get out from living a miserable, struggling life. I believe to accept to what it is can powerfully transform any handicapped into a unique able person. To accept what it is because it can not be otherwise is the only inner gesture of humility we can do towards life. Such inner humility opens the door within us to get in touch with our true power beyond physical disability. Only then we can find peace and joy of being regardless of external handicaps. There is peace because we put an end to our resistance that is responsible to create an unhappy view of life. There is joy because there is a state of peacefulness within.

     We may not celebrate each day for lacking of physical prowess, but at least there is a constant flow of inner peace, harmony that makes us express our natural talents and creativity, unique from others. That makes our handicaps amazing for those who have witnessed around us!