Amanda

This is a cold morning,one of those I prefer to stay indoors and I am not taken in the early morning sun,apparently it is therapeutic as it gives us Vitamin D which strengths the bones. I am not watching TV and neither am I reading today. Yesterday I completed reading,’ Predictably Irrational ‘ by Dan Ariel a wonderful read on the decisions we make more like behavioral economics. What is on my mind is a video shared by a colleague Benjamin Kavubu Netanyahu, no I’m kidding I just inserted the second name to emphasize his undying love for Israel!

The video is of a 19-year-old Amanda at America Got Talent but this was not an ordinary contestant, this is a person with a speech impediment and she told the judges about the speech issue and sailed through her original composition beautifully like a swan.

If you have read my previous posts you now know about my Speech struggles. Amanda has a Speech impediment whereas I do have a Speech impairment. An impediment is an external obstacle blocking the way (either metaphorically, or literally). An impairment is an lack of expected or required functionality. So Amanda stutters which makes it difficult for her to be heard.

I have written about my Silent Struggle so you can understand why I am resonating with this performance. The opening words by Amanda for me are what took the day. She accepted the impediment and said to herself,what next. The brutal truth is that the world owes you nothing and life has to go on despite the problems. I resumed blogging because of the stroke. It was never in my plans but Life happened and well if there is something I’m living for, it is to give hope and I hope I am doing that. I am always encouraged by life stories of individuals whose life didn’t turn out as planned but are not defined by the issue. They decided to rise above it and dare to live and in the end I hope people are inspired. The desired effect is one thing and whether that happens is for another day

Like any human, life didn’t prepare me for this but life happened. I decided to speak with the hand and judging from the feedback,I am speaking well. I just embraced Life and do not desire for the world to pity me. The question should be,what do I have to offer the world? A person or two will change their perspective on life in pain.

 I once heard a story about a man who uses a wheelchair. When asked if it was difficult being confined, he responded, “I’m not confined to my wheelchair—I am liberated by it. If it wasn’t for my wheelchair, I would be bed-bound and never able to leave my house.” This shift in perspective completely transformed how he lived each day.- Atomic Habits, James Clear. Paralysis limits mobility and to aid that, one needs a wheel chair because for all my medical reviews, a wheel chair is used to ease the mobility. A while back my aunt suggested that she gets me one. I refused reasoning that it will confine me, but on further thought it actually liberates me as it aids my mobility. Furthermore I go for physiotherapy as the long-term goal is to walk again. I guess it is all about perspective. The stroke may have taken a large part of me but it left the best of me.Que sera sera, what will be will be