Human
Potentialities
“If
we are to have a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must
recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a
less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift
will find a fitting place.”
Margaret
Mead
I
grew up in a family which included two people with disabilities. My
older sister, Jerrie, had spina bifida occulta, an opening in the
spinal column in her lower back. She grew up with normal, perhaps
even above average, intelligence, but always walked with a limp.
There were things she excelled in, like academics, and things she
simply couldn't do, like swim or dance. Those required coordination
that she did not have. My younger sister, Missy, had a cerebral
hemorrhage at three weeks of age and was profoundly disabled. She had
no speech, could not bathe or dress or feed herself, and could not
walk. Both of my sisters, in spite of their obvious handicaps, had
gifts that were valuable. Jerrie was a smart mathematician, majored
in Statistics in college. After she married, she put those skills to
work in her family's business, figuring construction bids, keeping
the books, filing taxes. Missy was simply the most joyful person I
ever knew. She brought remarkable love and light into the world. Her
gift was her untarnished spirit.
Fully
half the people in the world fall below the mean on the bell curve;
they are never going to be rocket scientists or silicon valley
executives, but they have gifts none the less. We would have a much
richer world if we were able to search out the gifts in every human
being, and empower them to use their abilities in the service of
others and themselves. Some people need help if they are to survive;
that's a simple fact. They are not faking it; in fact, many folks are
not capable of faking it. It speaks volumes about a society that
expects its old and disabled to sink or swim without help.
When
those of us who are able bodied and able minded turn our backs on the
least among us, we turn our backs on our own humanity. We fail to
recognize that everyone's gifts are precious and necessary for the
smooth functioning of the world's soul. If it were not so, they would
not be here. Perhaps one of the gifts they bring is to teach the rest
of us compassion.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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