In 2024 I’m hoping to share more pictures in my wheelchair, because though selfies showing my chair are hard to take, everything else feels like it’s missing a big part of my story. In that spirit the next post marks the shifts I’m feeling going into the New Year Wishing you all a truly wonderful 2024!
What I’m most grateful for in 2023 is the incredible amount my close friends stepped in to pull me through a very difficult year. At times I didn’t know if I’d make it but here I am happier and full of more love and gratitude than ever, for fiercely independent me had to learn her profound indebtedness to others . One of my biggest aims for 2024 is to connect with others in the most honest, vulnerable and authentic ways I can. I’m incredibly grateful for the people I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by who accept me fully as a disabled woman, but I cannot pretend that the world at large is accepting or mindful when it comes to disability. Every day of my existence is rife with examples of how far from understanding of the disability experience this society is and this troubles me deeply as I know how many others are experiencing difficulties due to the general lack of awareness extant in the world in regard to disability. For this reason I no longer like the phrase “don’t let your disability define you” it is problematic to me, as if my naming and claiming that I’m disabled will alter the the number of obstructions, obstacles and judgments those of us with disabilities run into in the world. My disability will be with me wherever I go, so the truth underlying the phrase too often feels more like “please maintain the illusion of acceptability and normalcy and don’t make us have to confront your disability”. I get it this disability journey can be scary and uncomfortable and sad, but I’d love to share with you that it can also be expanding, empowering and enlightening. So rather then attempting to keep up any illusion that my life looks like whatever normal is to another, I’d prefer to work toward creating a society that embraces disability and the diversity of human experience to the degree that we are each able to live authentically and freely without others questioning the value of our existence. In other words being a disabled woman is one of the myriad ways you can define and identify me. I hope that by freely and honestly sharing my experience I do my part in carving out a bit more space for you to do the same. #Disability
What I’m most grateful for in 2023 is the incredible amount my close friends stepped in to pull me through a very difficult year. At times I didn’t know if I’d make it but here I am happier and full of more love and gratitude than ever, for fiercely independent me had to learn her profound indebtedness to others . One of my biggest aims for 2024 is to connect with others in the most honest, vulnerable and authentic ways I can. I’m incredibly grateful for the people I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by who accept me fully as a disabled woman, but I cannot pretend that the world at large is accepting or mindful when it comes to disability. Every day of my existence is rife with examples of how far from understanding of the disability experience this society is and this troubles me deeply as I know how many others are experiencing difficulties due to the general lack of awareness extant in the world in regard to disability. For this reason I no longer like the phrase “don’t let your disability define you” it is problematic to me, as if my naming and claiming that I’m disabled will alter the the number of obstructions, obstacles and judgments those of us with disabilities run into in the world. My disability will be with me wherever I go, so the truth underlying the phrase too often feels more like “please maintain the illusion of acceptability and normalcy and don’t make us have to confront your disability”. I get it this disability journey can be scary and uncomfortable and sad, but I’d love to share with you that it can also be expanding, empowering and enlightening. So rather then attempting to keep up any illusion that my life looks like whatever normal is to another, I’d prefer to work toward creating a society that embraces disability and the diversity of human experience to the degree that we are each able to live authentically and freely without others questioning the value of our existence. In other words being a disabled woman is one of the myriad ways you can define and identify me. I hope that by freely and honestly sharing my experience I do my part in carving out a bit more space for you to do the same. #Disability
I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, because, all external trappings aside, why not use this day as a day to celebrate actual love ? So today and every day I hope you feel deeply seen, understood and cherished for exactly who you are. I hope you are given a supportive loving space to learn and grow and flourish as the uniquely imperfect, ever evolving you that this world can not thrive without. I hope you give these things out to yourself and others generously and I hope we move ever closer toward the creation of a world where everyone feels this level of love ❤️
Honest view of my world- this is the physical space wherein I reside most of my days so I’ve done my best to make it as pleasing to me as possible. It’s taken time and help from a few incredible friends but it’s really becoming a place of joy for me. The windows, the books, the loving care of my mother and a few others (cats very much included!) and getting to work virtually alongside so many incredible @randomactsorg volunteers around the world doing something I deeply care about makes for a beautiful life. I’m sharing this here with you because I do wish to be more connected and a part of your world too , also because I desperately want others to know that disability might change the shape our lives take but it certainly doesn’t mean your life is over, there is so much more to all of our stories, I hope we get better and better at sharing our unique view. “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”-Alice Walker #disability #disabilityawareness
Honest view of my world- this is the physical space wherein I reside most of my days so I’ve done my best to make it as pleasing to me as possible. It’s taken time and help from a few incredible friends but it’s really becoming a place of joy for me. The windows, the books, the loving care of my mother and a few others (cats very much included!) and getting to work virtually alongside so many incredible @randomactsorg volunteers around the world doing something I deeply care about makes for a beautiful life. I’m sharing this here with you because I do wish to be more connected and a part of your world too , also because I desperately want others to know that disability might change the shape our lives take but it certainly doesn’t mean your life is over, there is so much more to all of our stories, I hope we get better and better at sharing our unique view. “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”-Alice Walker #disability #disabilityawareness
Honest view of my world- this is the physical space wherein I reside most of my days so I’ve done my best to make it as pleasing to me as possible. It’s taken time and help from a few incredible friends but it’s really becoming a place of joy for me. The windows, the books, the loving care of my mother and a few others (cats very much included!) and getting to work virtually alongside so many incredible @randomactsorg volunteers around the world doing something I deeply care about makes for a beautiful life. I’m sharing this here with you because I do wish to be more connected and a part of your world too , also because I desperately want others to know that disability might change the shape our lives take but it certainly doesn’t mean your life is over, there is so much more to all of our stories, I hope we get better and better at sharing our unique view. “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”-Alice Walker #disability #disabilityawareness
Honest view of my world- this is the physical space wherein I reside most of my days so I’ve done my best to make it as pleasing to me as possible. It’s taken time and help from a few incredible friends but it’s really becoming a place of joy for me. The windows, the books, the loving care of my mother and a few others (cats very much included!) and getting to work virtually alongside so many incredible @randomactsorg volunteers around the world doing something I deeply care about makes for a beautiful life. I’m sharing this here with you because I do wish to be more connected and a part of your world too , also because I desperately want others to know that disability might change the shape our lives take but it certainly doesn’t mean your life is over, there is so much more to all of our stories, I hope we get better and better at sharing our unique view. “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”-Alice Walker #disability #disabilityawareness
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Kitty photo dump, because these two wonderfuls keep widening my capacity for love and compassion every day. May we all keep our hearts open and our capacity for compassion expanding❤️ “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’ —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”—Albert Einstein
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, but celebrating or not may these days be full of love and laughter and light! And please remember that the best way to increase the love and warmth of the day is by reaching out to share it with another, especially those who wouldn’t feel it otherwise. ❤️
“And the sunbeams promised life and happiness and the glory of the unknown.” W. Somerset Maugham,
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” -Dr Martin Luther King Jr. #MartinLutherKingDay #MLKDay #NationalDayOfService
Grateful for these days to spend reading and rereading wonderful books. ( Also Merlin trying to figure out the magic of these objects that have somehow intrigued me enough to take a picture of something other than him.) #books #happyholidays #enjoythismoment “Next time I’m about to cast a harsh judgement on a stranger who offends me, can I allow myself instead to see them as the flawed and complex human that they are? Full of heartbreak, loss, ambition and disappointment, walking a volatile path of all the things they’ve ever failed at?” @kaetempest On Connection
