My life changed last year.
For a brief period I had to think 10 times before climbing down the stairs, before going out anywhere. My preparations for a bath used to be like planning a trip.
This gave me a different insight into things. It also created a deep dread within me. It made me question many of the things I used to take for granted. It made me think.
By the grace of God, I have recovered now. But what about people who are differently-abled people?
Any one of you (readers of this blog) could find yourself in a situation like this (may God never show you such tough times). Have you ever thought what if you could not do the things you do now?
How many friends would you have left?
How would you live life?
How would you earn money?
Who will you become a burden on?
Will you find a life partner? Will a person without disability love you for who you are? Will they have the patience? Will YOU have the self-confidence to be with them?
If you were in a country like England then things would be quite easier.
But what if you were in India where the new DTC bus-stops have the wheelchair symbol (which stands for differently-abled people friendly). But when you look at some of the bus-stops and the kind of buses which stop there you will realise it is a BIG JOKE.
In India, if you fall no one will pick you up. If you die, no one will care. differently-abled people are treated like garbage especially in the smaller towns and villages where they represent an economic burden.
There is a test that you can do to experience what a blind person feels. Just close your eyes and cover them with cotton wool. Then wrap a cloth over them and around your head, so that the cotton wool stays in place. Then just try doing something normal (like for example brushing your teeth or eating food!).
Try it, it will change you.
The aim of this post is to make you (the reader) realise (if you hadn't realised already) that there are individuals out there who do not experience the same life as we do.
And that any one of us can enter that category at any point of time.
So make sure you treat differently-abled people with extra sensitivity. Don't brush them aside (even if it is a beggar).
Make sure you do something for them.
Even spending some time with them would cheer them up.
Start small, even if it means spending more time with that neighbour who just fractured their arm.
Ask them if they need any help (mean it and don't be too eager to help, you don't want them to feel useless - they are NOT useless!).
If you can, go work with organizations who work with differently-abled people.
It takes five fingers to make a full hand. Not all five fingers are the same, nor can the hand work normally with any of them. Differently-abled people reveal to us the true meaning of life. Let us repay them well for teaching us this lesson!
:)
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