Times have changed and we are truly living in a world that has less compassion. The purpose of this blog is not to stigmatize those of us who are going through an enormous amount of stigmatization already,but to bring more awareness and compassion to those who like me want to see the vulnerable in our society more protected and treated with more human dignity. I work with an organization that treats disabled people with compassion and dignity, but people like me get tired and fed up with an attitude that the vulnerable cannot help themselves. There is nothing in this world that people don't like feeling more than feeing helpless and without hope. When people go through mental health problems and other disabilities, they learn to lean on others who are stronger than they are to help and provide for them the things that they are unable to provide for themselves.
Being dependant on others is not something that we want naturally as human beings, but those of us who are faced with a disability are put into situations where we feel that if it weren't for people with like minds and compassion, we would be forgotten by our society. Life is already hard enough, but when we are faced with a health problem that usually lasts for the rest of our lives, some serious changes happen in the way we deal with our own attitude about suffering and our awareness of the disability and sufferings of others. When I was growing up and saw a homeless person walking down the street, my first question was how did that person get that way?
When we look at disability that way we forget that in some way, we are all vulnerable, and given the right situations in life (or should I say the wrong ones!) anyone can end up with a permanent disability. I have first hand experience with this, and I never thought that I would be a person who suffers with a disability. I would like to talk about the compassion needed and perseverance everyone needs with those who suffer from a disability of any kind. I think I said life is hard by itself, without things like a mental health challenge and I think we need to support those of us who need it. To a certain extent we are already doing this now, but we need to be reminded of the weakness that exist in our human nature, so when we feel helpless we won't be afraid to seek out the help and support for all people who suffer.
I think the answer lies in our collective attitudes towards suffering/pain and if we perceive suffering to be good or bad? In a sense it is both, suffering can be good when it brings people together and when we share our sufferings with God and other people. I know we can find hope when we walk through any kind of suffering with people who understand, and are going through similar kinds of pain. Society should never shun those people in the ways that disabled people find relief. It is already hard enough to live with a disability, so when we find ways that ease our pain we shouldn't have to explain to others why we do the things we do. For me faith works most of the time. This is Mike.
Being dependant on others is not something that we want naturally as human beings, but those of us who are faced with a disability are put into situations where we feel that if it weren't for people with like minds and compassion, we would be forgotten by our society. Life is already hard enough, but when we are faced with a health problem that usually lasts for the rest of our lives, some serious changes happen in the way we deal with our own attitude about suffering and our awareness of the disability and sufferings of others. When I was growing up and saw a homeless person walking down the street, my first question was how did that person get that way?
When we look at disability that way we forget that in some way, we are all vulnerable, and given the right situations in life (or should I say the wrong ones!) anyone can end up with a permanent disability. I have first hand experience with this, and I never thought that I would be a person who suffers with a disability. I would like to talk about the compassion needed and perseverance everyone needs with those who suffer from a disability of any kind. I think I said life is hard by itself, without things like a mental health challenge and I think we need to support those of us who need it. To a certain extent we are already doing this now, but we need to be reminded of the weakness that exist in our human nature, so when we feel helpless we won't be afraid to seek out the help and support for all people who suffer.
I think the answer lies in our collective attitudes towards suffering/pain and if we perceive suffering to be good or bad? In a sense it is both, suffering can be good when it brings people together and when we share our sufferings with God and other people. I know we can find hope when we walk through any kind of suffering with people who understand, and are going through similar kinds of pain. Society should never shun those people in the ways that disabled people find relief. It is already hard enough to live with a disability, so when we find ways that ease our pain we shouldn't have to explain to others why we do the things we do. For me faith works most of the time. This is Mike.
Comments
Post a Comment