Because We Care

Having a disability or Cerebral Palsy doesn’t mean we have to do something for nothing. We can bring many ideas and suggestions to the table which can not only make use of our talents but can open doors and minds if people are mindful. It takes drive, initiative, and discipline to get somewhere in the universe. It also takes time, effort, and doing what we care most about; over, and over, and over again, until we are recognized. Sometimes it’s for money, and sometimes it’s not. Is it because I care about the project or because I want or need the money? Will this make my name known or hinder my reputation.

As a disabled, women, I have worked hard to make something of myself. I have worked all my life to make a difference! To make a real difference in people lives around me! To help other by being a light! Not for the money. Not for the prestige. Not for the sheer sake of it, sometimes it would have been nice. However, now, I see, I have come full circle. People recognize me, by just being little ole’ me.

What Really Matters

We all have had to protect ourselves one way or another living life with Cerebral Palsy. We have had to suit up at all cost. We have had to equip ourselves physically, emotionally, and mentally. Today, bullying is not as overt as its definition. This aggressive behavior happens when an individual thinks he has to exercise his own power. They think we don’t fit in or can’t fit in. So it is their job, they think, to redirect or threaten us.

Whether it is Pluto bullying Popeye, or a bureaucrat dismissing a person’s concerns, bullying is rampant. It affects everyone! Even the visuals of computer games promote violence.

What are you doing to combat this destruction?

Armoring Ourselves

How well do you as a person with Cerebral Palsy and any disability armor yourself?

When you talk with people you need to do business with such as: doctors, educators, counselors, and therapist; are you like Maximus the powerful Roman general? Do you wear a helmet and a savior sword to protect yourself, or do you have trouble navigating the system when someone touches a nerve?

Do you stand up for yourself or melt under pressure?

The Seen and Unseen of our Existence

How many times has a disabled person with Cerebral Palsy been acknowledge for the thing they have set out to accomplish in their lives? It’s easy for people with C.P. like Josh Blue or Jerry Jewel. They give people a taste, with humor, that sometimes makes lite of who we really are. But the reality is, it’s not so funny. Dealing with C.P. is not a game or to be toyed with. It’s a daily struggle. And most would rather be working or walking or bringing home a nice, crisp, paycheck of their own.

Just because people make fun of themselves as a commodity doesn’t always make it right. You wouldn’t make fun of a person not being able to swallow their food. Nor would you make fun of someone who has spasticity.

Often people will stand back and wait until someone else jumps in to save the survivor. But in most cases they don’t jump in. Day-by-day, week-by-week, year-by-year; the days just roll by. We get older, frailer; our dreams that we once had are no longer an option, we are cast aside, and organization that said they would help lie to our faces, or put us on an ever-ending marry-go-round. Most of us sit quietly on our laurels’, however, the significance of these experiences cost us dearly. Their lack of initiative is our greatest loss!

Creating Not Polishing Your Life

In our world so often our major choices seem to be selecting preordained ideas. For some, possibilities are stars shooting in the sky, while people with Cerebral Palsy are “swayed” to sit at home and watch T.V. This comfortable coaxing is a waste of talents and people’s lives. But an entire system exists to sustain it. When are we going to change it? When are we going to speak up and out?

It ought to be possible in the world we live in today, to get assistance from the organizations we reach out to. Instead, our issues are debated. They are treated lightly and are bones of contentions. We are (matters in question). When will they bring forth the ease from constraint to allow us to achieve and accomplish, rather then what is comfortable for those helping us.

The system is broken because there is a definite disconnect between what is assumed “they” think we should do, and what we are actually capable of doing. Where is people’s confidence in us? Where is the willingness to let our ability shine forth? Where is the bringing together and the building of bridges? It’s easy to stand over someone with criticism, advice, authoritative power, and well meant intentions; it is far harder to figure out how to help “us” accomplish what we think is important.

Being Positive in the New Year

For those of you, who are like me, the New Year brings many opportunities and challenges. Whether you have a disability or not life keeps moving forward. Chances to grow, chances to expand, chances to face are always present. It’s all in how we take life’s possibilities and turn them into sweet achievements. Because we all know that our challenges define us. They invite us to engage and participate. They dare and test our ability. And, they stimulate our response calling us to reach our fullest and highest potential.

Enticing Others to Believe

When I was younger, I worked over a 300 extension switchboard as a switchboard operator for a few prominent companies. These firms were unaware of my strengths. They were more skeptical of my ability to do the job. They didn’t and could see I was doing more work with one hand than my immediate co-workers with two. No one could see my strengths. They could only see a problem to be fixed. In their eyes, I had a deficit. I was lacking. It didn’t matter whether I dressed well, was faster on the keyboard with one-hand, or more organized ; my ability was discounted.

My inner- spirit has grown from this knowledge obtained. But what is so wrong with our society that people will not promote and help those with Cerebral Palsy. Is it the way we look? Is it the way we conduct ourselves? Or is it our ability to choose the direction in our own lives that people are threatened of?

Persuading in a World that Needs Convincing

Too often, we people with disabilities spend a lifetime persuading people who need convincing. We assume the moral correctness of what we seek because we want more for our lives than what the “experts” are willing to give. But more often than not, they degrade and stereotype those who could make it successfully in society. This impact and emotional detachment encourages experts to look down on those who have capable achievement. The facts are there, but it is necessary to go a step further. Otherwise, we will be couch potatoes for the rest of our lives. What is required is a journey inside the mind of those on the surface who seem uncaring and uninterested.

How to be Present in Your Life

There are many positive things a person with Cerebral Palsy and Special Needs can do for themselves. But one must want to do it. One must be willing to step out of the box, and go to any lengths. One must be willing to take action when action is needed.

Thus, a very important aspect of your determination depends on your commitment to yourself. Too often, people in our shoes, are not made aware of their opportunities or options because someone else has gotten in the way. Someone wasn’t willing, or kind enough to pass the information along to you that might have helped. The solution to this problem is to be proactive. Triple check everything that passes your way. Do research on information that was given to you by outsiders. Never accept a word for face value. Never allow anyone you do not know well, or trust, to pressure you into making a decision. Listen to your inner self. Trust what it tells you. Be gentle and go forth.

Their Word Isn’t Ours

In the mist of being a disabled person, and having Cerebral Palsy, our words seem to always be misunderstood. The intensity of which we live, speak, and pursue our goals is shocking to the rest of the world. They can’t handle it! It’s as though our words and thoughts have no meaning or validity. They misinterpret our strong efforts as an obsession. It’s very hard to grasp why everything is so important to us. But, when 20, 30, or 60 years go by and we have nothing to show for it then things become intense. We see our life before us, and realize that all these people, places, and things were obstacles. That our thoughts and dreams were only unrealistic hopes and plans for the future. And that our word had no meaning at all to others!