DisAbility: Deficit or Abundance?

Photo: jravel *

"Deficit." "Scarcity." "Abundance." All seemingly buzzwords these days, especially hitched to "mentality." I got to thinking about how we perceive disAbility. Do we perceive differently abled from a "deficit mentality?"  Societally -- by and large -- yes.  But, is it possible to perceive disAbility from an Abundance Mentality?

I say Yes to the later. I say Yes, we can Choose to view Life challenges of any form from an Abundance Mentality. (I've had my share of adversity -- job loss, divorce, disAbility -- and I can vouch authentically for this view.) Thinking in terms of Abundance versus Deficit doesn't always make Life more fun in the thick of it. But I find that it can make it a lot more palatable. What can we learn? Might there be some nugget of Good in this? Could we even manage to acknowledge it might be...All Good?** Maybe? A Buddhist might say: "Accept what is."  "Resistance creates pain."

I would agree, again. BUT this does not mean that Special Needs Parents, for instance, sit back and do nothing. I had the pleasure of sharing a cuppa joe with film producer Erik Linthorst recently. His child, diagnosed very early, was on a collision course with autism, but averted the disAbility through rigorous early intervention and perhaps the right happenstance of genes. Yet, Erik and his creative writer wife haven't abandoned the Autism Community. His is not a journey of flinging "The Label" like a plague.

Of the many things that I was gifted from our short visit together, one was this:  He said he always tries to Aim High for his son, who is now diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. He Aims High, BUT, in the meantime, he also endeavors to Embrace where he/his son is in The Moment. I'd call that a great way to look at life with disAbility and adversity. Aim High. Embrace Now. To me, that's Abundance Mentality. And, Win-Win.

Here's another take on Choice. The Choice of how we can view Life: Scribbit: Motherhood in Alaska.

Deficit or Abundance? I say it's All About Attitude.

*Ugh. Still blog problems. No links abled for Flickr. Still also unable to comment back here. Sorry. Aiming to fix. Baby Boomer in a 20something tech world. It ain't pretty.

**Spiritual Divorce: Using Divorce as a Catalyst for an Extraordinary Life by Debbie Ford

Photo: jravel *

"Deficit." "Scarcity." "Abundance." All seemingly buzzwords these days, especially hitched to "mentality." I got to thinking about how we perceive disAbility. Do we perceive differently abled from a "deficit mentality?"  Societally -- by and large -- yes.  But, is it possible to perceive disAbility from an Abundance Mentality?

I say Yes to the later. I say Yes, we can Choose to view Life challenges of any form from an Abundance Mentality. (I've had my share of adversity -- job loss, divorce, disAbility -- and I can vouch authentically for this view.) Thinking in terms of Abundance versus Deficit doesn't always make Life more fun in the thick of it. But I find that it can make it a lot more palatable. What can we learn? Might there be some nugget of Good in this? Could we even manage to acknowledge it might be...All Good?** Maybe? A Buddhist might say: "Accept what is."  "Resistance creates pain."

I would agree, again. BUT this does not mean that Special Needs Parents, for instance, sit back and do nothing. I had the pleasure of sharing a cuppa joe with film producer Erik Linthorst recently. His child, diagnosed very early, was on a collision course with autism, but averted the disAbility through rigorous early intervention and perhaps the right happenstance of genes. Yet, Erik and his creative writer wife haven't abandoned the Autism Community. His is not a journey of flinging "The Label" like a plague.

Of the many things that I was gifted from our short visit together, one was this:  He said he always tries to Aim High for his son, who is now diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. He Aims High, BUT, in the meantime, he also endeavors to Embrace where he/his son is in The Moment. I'd call that a great way to look at life with disAbility and adversity. Aim High. Embrace Now. To me, that's Abundance Mentality. And, Win-Win.

Here's another take on Choice. The Choice of how we can view Life: Scribbit: Motherhood in Alaska.

Deficit or Abundance? I say it's All About Attitude.

*Ugh. Still blog problems. No links abled for Flickr. Still also unable to comment back here. Sorry. Aiming to fix. Baby Boomer in a 20something tech world. It ain't pretty.

**Spiritual Divorce: Using Divorce as a Catalyst for an Extraordinary Life by Debbie Ford

Comments

[Michelle at Scribbit]

Thank you for the mention!