Disability Is by Kate Ryan

Disability is.

It just is.

It is neither a blessing nor a curse.

It is not fiction; it is not imaginary, it exists in ways we can see and we cannot see.

Disability is not a curse from God or punishment for your sins or your past life. You do not have a disability because you or some deity chose you to learn a lesson through it.

Disability is doing what you can, with what you have. It is accepting your limits and pushing your boundaries.

Disability is not a tragedy. It does not need prayers or candles or sorrowful glances.

Disability does not need pity. Disability needs action.

Disability is not because you did not work hard enough or try enough, or because you unconsciously sabotaged yourself from achieving your goal.

Disability is not because you did not try this or that treatment, cure, or ritual.

Disability is in spite of thousands of years of people trying to rid the world of it and of people with disabilities.

Disability is you, and it is not you. It is of you and about you. It is inherent within you and totally without you.

Disability is happiness and sorrow, and taking joy in things ordinary and extraordinary.

Disability is a warm, caring community with a slightly warped sense of humor.

Disability is finding bodily fluids to be very, very funny.

Disability is, and it isn’t, and nobody can define it but you.