Disability

Photo By: Raj Tuladhar https://unsplash.com/@reazonsraj

Not a taboo to avoid,

Not a circumstance to resist.

Not a curse that condemns,

Not a condition to correct.

Disability is a quality to evolve with.

It warns you of limitations, 

It encourages you to try new ways.

It teaches you adjust and remain aware,

It is something new to learn and understand. 

Disability is a companion that guides you on a new path to discover.

Not a symbol of being ‘less than’,

It builds you into more of you with acceptance.

Not always easy to live with, 

It brings out the strengths you hold within. 

Disability is a part of who you are, a quality to nurture and embrace.

For the majority of my life, I've been confused with what to do with my disability. Treated as if it is a taboo to avoid and a circumstance to resist, it made believing it to be a condemnation against me an easy illusion to get lost in and think that a correction had to be made.

Despite it all, disability has been a quality that I was meant to evolve with. Whether it was visible or invisible, it constantly warns me to stay mindful of my limitations and guides me to try new methods in times of frustration. Dropping the need for correction opened my heart to its teaching me to adjust and remain constantly aware. My disability always has something new for me to understand as it guides me on the paths less taken.

Looking back, disability was never meant to symbolize being ‘less than’, it led me to search for the treasure within that is only cultivated with acceptance. It's not easy living against what I think ‘should be’ but I wouldn't be building my strengths and being my unique self without having a disability to guide me and cultivate. I have had a disability since I was eleven years old  and I continue to embrace having a disability because I deserve to nurture who I am, accept all my qualities and be who I am meant to be. There is so much to discover beyond my disability.