Well, New Year’s Eve has come and gone and January rouses me into wintertime musings about life-
-past and present–as I begin to clarify my still-nebulous resolutions for the year ahead.
As imbibing in the spirits helped many of us ring in 2015, another kind of spirit comes into focus for me–a more important one–my spirit. Better said, my spirituality. It’s what gives me guidance and gets me through.
Spirituality: “the core part of us that gives us the power to transcend any experience at hand and seek meaning and purpose, to have faith, to love, to forgive, to pray, to meditate, to worship and see beyond the physical here and now. Spirituality is the inner force that animates human life.”
As we grow older, it seems that we have more life losses to grieve and be sad about. We are losing physical prowess, friends, lovers, family members and familiar things, like paper books, hand-written letters in the mail, even fun stuff like funny comic books, drive-in restaurants and movies.
But may we console ourselves with the simple, but profound truth that grief and happiness can gracefully exist side-by-side in our hearts.
I believe that as we grieve the very gradual loss of our physical abilities, we can increase the power of our spirits in new and exciting ways.
Personally cultivating our spirituality can not only have a positive and powerful effect on our own strength and energy, but also on the health and well-being of many people around us.
Here are a couple of personal reflections I’ve had along my spiritual way. Do either of them ring true for you?
Personal Reflection Number One…
So many of us were told as youngsters that we had to depend on our brain to get us through life with an unusual body that was partially paralyzed. “Be smart, clever and well-educated and you will show people you can fit in.”
But there was another important piece. Body and mind are interlaced with our spirit to make us complete. Some even say that we are all spirits on earth who just happen to have a body. And that spiritual transcendence can help us face our physical differences and challenges “with a clearer perspective, rising above the limits and pain initially imposed by the disability.”
As a person who has been living with a post-polio disability for sixty-two years now, my spirituality has helped me make sense of being unusual, physically. God works in unexpected ways, at surprising times and through unique people like you and me.
Personal Reflection Number Two…
We have the power to effortlessly transfuse other souls on earth with enthusiasm and assurance. I really believe that we who have a socially- obvious disability with braces, crutches, wheelchairs, and a variety of physical differences have been put on a stage in this “theater of life.”
Like it or not, people notice us. People look at us. People even stare at us. And that has given us an automatic power to influence others in positive ways.
Being a person with a disability who genuinely emanates spiritual peace can have an amazing effect on so many people around us. How many times have you heard people say “you are such an inspiration to me?” Spiritual meditation can bring us a peaceful heart. That serenity in our eyes and in our overall countenance, surrounded by our appliances and asymmetries, automatically gives hope to those who are seeking inspiration.
Did you see the woman on Dancing with the Stars last year who came in second dancing on two prostheses? The power of her positive influence in America and around the world is huge. She has no idea.
And neither do we. We can and have been influencing the human condition on earth as we have transcended and transformed our polio-caused disability from weakness into strength.
When you think of it, there is great irony in knowing that because we have lost muscle power, we have the potential to give muscle, vitality and strength to the world and we don’t even have to say a word.
First and foremost, we simply have to be present among our fellow human beings. That’s it. Just show up. Just be there, among people. All the rest that we choose to do–like speaking, writing, listening, leading, following, praying for people, contributing through our work or our family jobs or a hundred other roles we may play—all of that is simply what we do. But what about the spirit driving all that activity? How does the divinity of our inner spirit inform our activity?
As I write this blog post, my first 2015 resolution is slowly emerging into crystal clarity. I want to tap into my spirituality every single day this year…because I really, really, really respect and like my spirit. I will ask spirit every morning to lead me through the activities of that new day.
Okay spirit, I’m ready. What will happen? This is exciting.
Wishing you an enthusiastic year ahead.……….
Did any of these personal reflections on spirituality resonate with you?
Sharing your unique personal insights here might help enlighten someone who is earnestly searching for his or her own spiritual answers…
Sunny speaks the truth. People pay attention to differences. Sunny herself has greatly enriched my life and has enabled me to see through others eyes. Thank you Sunny–you help make me whole. Thank you for choosing light instead of darkness. I love you dearly…
What I remembered from my first meeting with you was your eyes. It must have been hard to get used to people staring at them, marveling in their beauty, clarity and sincere questioning.
I don’t know about first impressions, but you do make lasting, wonderful impressions on each life that you touch. Thank you, Sunny!
Amen.
Sunny,
Congratulations on the continuing success of your Blog that shares such inspirational thoughts on life, and touches so many people!
I especially liked your use of the word ‘unusual’ in reference to the unique differences in body parts that are common accompaniments of disabling conditions such as polio. Acceptance of our own unusual & unique body parts is probably a universal challenge of the human condition–it certainly was for me growing up as an apparently able-bodied man. As Linda Donahue said so well, we come to terms with all parts of ourselves as we age, and as we grow in self-acceptance we inspire self-confidence and respect. These are the joys of growing older, even as we accept the losses in many physical capacities that we have loved for years and perhaps thought would last ‘forever’. Truly, reflecting on our strengthening and joyful/thankful spirits is an awesome mantra for the New Year.
Thanks for joining this super conversation, Fred. So many wonderful insights…
Loved it. You have me thinking. “Sprint come and be with me every day” will be my prayer for tomorrow and many tomorrows. I usually start each day with my four “P’s”.
Prayer: with my Thomas Kinkade devotional book. Patience: as I place my long leg left brace in place so that I can walk. Prioritize: the things that I must accomplish today. Persistence: giving me the strength that I need to get through my day. At the end of the day “A BIG THANKS” for letting me do all the good that I could for all the people I love. God Bless you. I will love following your posts. Linda
Linda,
Love your thoughts and your 4 P’s.
It’s been wonderful to hear from everyone who has commented on this post. Great conversation! What a bright and lively community we have here! Let’s keep talking…
Thank you for that insightful piece. On pilgrimage in India many years ago, we were told polio attacked the saints to knock them off their mission. I certainly believe polio instead of diverting us, sharpened our resolve. Once I learned to appreciate my wonderful self, life became much easier. We all are so beautiful, inside and out.
And I can tell that you are a person who finds beauty all around you! What a joy that must be, Fran.
Thanks for putting into lovely words many of my thoughts and feelings
It’s great to have a faith connection reaching across the miles.
I am pondering the idea that “may we console ourselves with the simple, but profound truth that grief and happiness can gracefully exist side-by-side in our hearts.” I have never heard that juxtaposition of ideas before. It causes me to think. It causes me to reassess my view of the losses in my life.
I am captivated by your use of the term “unusual” to describe our polio-impacted bodies. I like it. And it is the first creative term (for my disability) that I have liked. For example, I cringe at “challenged,” and “differently-abled.” I have the notion that they are often written by well-meaning people who are desperately trying to not cause offense.
Back to unusual. I wonder if you used that term simply as a natural choice or if you pondered it and wondered if it was right, wrong, politically incorrect? Growing up, the last thing in this world I wanted was to be unusual. I desperately wanted to be just like everyone else, someone who blended in, someone who attracted no attention. I remember sitting on the bench in front of the library after school. I hid my crutches and my abnormally thin polio-impacted legs under the bench to savor the wolf whistles of truck drivers as they passed by on the Boston Post Road. But then Mom pulled up and the charade was over. When I brought my legs out from under the bench and hobbled to her car with my crutches, there were no more wolf whistles. This teenage vignette and so many more like it, stamped a message permanently into my psyche: Being unusual is bad.
Now in my seventh decade of life, there are still times when I struggle with my “socially obvious disability.” However, I have come to terms with it. Yes. When I go out into society, there is no concealing that I am, well, ‘unusual.’ And that’s OK. Maybe it is even a good thing! I see myself as a leader, as one who knows a secret and that is that acceptance equals happiness. Confidence inspires respect. I wheel with pride as I enter a busy post office, head held high. Smile at the ready.
Thank you, Sunny, for openning up your heart once again.
And thank you for this honest and open revelation, my friend. My charade was out of car windows. In so many unexpected ways, it all seems to be getting easier…as burgeoning self-acceptance inspires “confidence inspires respect”…Ain’t life grand?!?
WOW, Sunny, I am Joy and I live in Cairns Queensland Australia. I had polio in 1954 at the age of 7. I love your blogs, but this one is just so lovely and gives me something to think about. The things you said in this blog, most absolutely resonated with me. Thank you for your beautiful writings. Cheers Joy
So glad this rang true for you too. Sure is fun to have a new spirit friend from Australia! Another young very special friend of mine, Catharina, is serving as a nanny in Melbourne right now. She especially loves your beaches.
Beautiful and inspirational as always. You are truly a gifted writer and an extraordinary human being. I hope that we may have a chance to talk together in August in Michigan. Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom here.
Looking forward…