I look into the sky, a beautiful purple stream of light before me, dark, and full of destiny. I take a deep breath into my belly, filling my root chakras. This is a bridge to my future and how I perceive my life and how I can help the world around me.
In seconds, the despair disappears, the intense feeling gone. I feel my breath, my voice, my being. I am free. I see that having CP and enduring everything I have gone though made me that person who can bridge the divide. I can be the one who speaks up and out for the voiceless, who are afraid. And, maybe this will change the path for others.
I think often, how did I do this? But, I had no choice but to be myself. It was not only a challenge, but my destiny. So I did it with all my being.
I think back many a times. Maybe I was given all those challenges as an instrument to develop me, so I could help others. Maybe because I faced things that no one ever talked about was my way out. Maybe, the universe threw me all these curves because he knew I was strong even though I felt weak. And I went through them all by myself.
Because of this, I knew this was the time to accept, to heal, and to leave the hurt, pain and all these experiences to the universe so I could move forward to help others and become a symbol of joy and disability pride to help others like me.
You can order my poetry collection, including this poem, here: Reflections of My Heart.
Original text ©2024 by Karen Lynn-Chlup. All rights reserved. Image by
Ken Masson, the founder of the Post-Polio Advocacy Group in Rotary International, asked me to interview about my life story. Issues such as growing up with disabilities and then being labeled as borderline mentally retarded as an adult, and making my way through it all, loomed large.