The Brave and the Brokenhearted

"We are the authors of our lives. We write our own daring endings.  We craft love from heartbreak, compassion from shame, grace from disappointment, courage from failure. Showing up is our power. Story is our way home; truth is our song; we are the brave and brokenhearted, we are rising strong."  

Life Manifesto by Brene Brown 

As I scrolled down my Facebook feed yesterday, I was bombarded by people posting pictures of themselves wearing blue to bring awareness to Rare Disease Day and Dup15q Syndrome.  I was blown away by the whole student body of one Alaskan Elementary School who showed up wearing blue in support of a fellow schoolmate with Dup15q Syndrome.  As happy as I was to see so much support and awareness being brought on by so many people throughout the world, my heart was heavy with a sadness that my own kin are not capable of showing such support for L. My siblings seem too preoccupied with their own lives and problems to even consider L.  I'm not sure they are even aware of his condition.  I wonder what they live for and what matters to them in life.  We have grown so distant over the years that they are no more than strangers in my life.

I also wonder about the fate of people with intellectual disability in the third world.  I have heard that autism doesn't exist in parts of Africa and other third world countries but  I wonder if that is really true.  When one can barely feed oneself and put food on the table for the family; when sanitation wreaks disease and life and death is a pulse of everyday worries, can people really take valuable resources to care for someone with a disability?  Every day is a battle for survival and when even one's neurotypical children are in want, how easy it must be to give up the child with a disability.  What happens to them?  In the society I live, I am fortunate enough and feel it even an indulgence to raise an intellectually disabled child.  Would I be afforded the same privilege had I been living in a mud hut in a third world country with no health care, poor sanitation and lack of food and education?  I wonder what happens to these children/ Are they murdered?  Given up for adoption?  Where do they go? My mind is haunted by the questions. The web site Two Thirds of the Planet does a wonderful job of sharing stories of how people with disabilities are treated around the world - "without the inspiration porn".  (Thank you, Adelaide DuPont for the link!)

In Canada (see video below), a father of a child with Down's Syndrome purges his guilt online after not being vocal about educating strangers about his son's condition.  I empathize with this father.  There are so many opportunities for learning and teaching but not all occasions are appropriate. When we stumble, sometimes we can become our own worst critic.  I hope he found redemption through making this video.  I, for one, have learned so much about the meaning of learning and teaching. God bless him.