Disability and Opportunity?

 Okay, sounds ridiculous right?   That acquired disability is an opportunity.  Well yea, it is.  Tough part is getting past the thoughts of yesterday I could, today I can’t.

Opportunity is defined as: “A favorable combination of circumstances, time, and place”.  For a very long time I didn’t believe in that combination, after all, what’s favorable about acquiring a disability?  But I as travelled along my journey,  I found my own definition: “the circumstances of the disability I acquired in 1997 offered me the opportunity to experience a new world which led me to write a book”. 

But how did I do that when any semblance of opportunities seemed to have disappeared.  This is what happened:

So, there I was, surrounded by thoughts of how my life as I knew it ended.  All I had identified as “normal”, who I was, my environment, not having to pay attention to every single movement I attempted to make left me out in the cold.  Everything that was once a simple act without having to think about it, disappeared.  So, how in the world could I find opportunity amongst all that?  How could I ever define something like that?

 To begin with, I had to recognize an opportunity even existed.  I hadn’t put any thought into a personal definition of opportunity, or a chance to accept it.  I had to search for the door to knock on and take a step outside.

The process was especially difficult because it involved setting aside what I couldn’t do anymore.  I had to replace it with the opportunity to discover new ways to do them.  It was a grueling process as my introduction to disability included introductions to a whole bunch of feelings I never knew existed and certainly never felt before. 

Opportunity one:

I needed to acknowledge those feelings and allow myself to feel them.  I needed to get them out of my head.  When I took that step, I discovered I had many hidden emotions, I felt labeled, and all my naming and blaming was getting in my way.  I was giving my opportunities away to let my negative emotions flourish and hold me back from discovering any of my own.  Every single opportunity I gave away were micro-managing my compensation, my direction, and yes, my opportunities.

Opportunity two:

This is where I had the opportunity to become the boss and fired the micro-managers.  Here is where I learned this:  Proudly recognize that you are still you.  Proudly announce to your disability (and to the world) everything you have learned and earned and embraced are still with you.  Announce your strengths, assets, and talents.  Ignite your creative eye and look for the opportunities of going around, under, or over obstacles you will experience. 

Become an engineer of highways and set off on a journey with endless opportunities at your side.  Pause at villages, towns, and cities of possibility.  Soak them in and continue your journey.

Opportunity three:

Journeys include going through bad weather.  Grab an umbrella, put the windshield wipers on and keep driving.  Go through the storm, allow yourself to acknowledge your emotions and get to work passing them on your highway.  Leave them behind to clear the way to your door of opportunity and knock.

This stuff doesn’t happen in one day – it becomes a daily task that, well, sticks with you pretty much the rest of your life, that’s what journeys do.  It’s a task everyone has.  However, it does get easier with each door of opportunity you open.  It’ll become second nature and turn into one of those things you do without even realizing you’re doing it.

So, what’s your opportunity look like?  Be brave and define it, design it, believe in it, and let your light shine.  And always remember, yesterday you could, today you can do it even better.