I try to live my life by a few simple maxims:
“Strive for balance in all things.”
“Never eat more than you can lift.”
“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.”
It took me years to see the wisdom in that last
one. I mean, severe pain and joint damage of rheumatoid arthritis – my
particular challenge – are pretty darn dramatic. Having shoulders, hips and
knees severed from me and new ones bolted in have proven to be a bit of a distraction.
But I think I’ve finally seen the light and rehabilitated
my attitude.
Now when I go to a new restaurant and all of the
tables are high with bar stools, I focus on my attitude. Even though I spend
the meal staring into my companions’ knees, I mentally try to levitate. That
doesn’t actually allow me to socialize with my friends or even hear much of the
conversation, but it cleans out all of the “badness” in my mind.
My rehabilitation also comes in handy when I’m
traveling and need to catch a taxi. Whether I attempt a street hail or try to
schedule a ride by phone, getting a wheelchair-accessible taxi is next to
impossible. But that’s OK. Although my trip then requires numerous buses and is
four times longer than a cab ride, I’m zipping along through traffic – only in
my mind, of course.
If I stay in a hotel or at a relative’s home and
there’s no wheelchair-accessible roll-in shower, no problem. As I take my
sponge bath at the sink, I imagine myself under a luxurious rain-style shower
head. Ah, the lovely flowing water…
You see, I’ve come to realize that being marginalized
from society happens not because humankind continues to build restaurants,
malls, theaters, offices, transportation and housing with physical barriers.
Oh, no. The problem lies within the mind of each and every person with a
disability. Fix the attitude and you’ve fixed the problem.
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