Neither Disabled nor Differently Abled
hi
i am abdullah is he i’m neither disabled
special needs person nor a differently
abled person
i am very able more than you can imagine
but in my own unique way
i do not have legs yet i am whole
i hardly require any compassion or
encouragement from anyone
on the contrary i have grown to become
the person
the son the friend the brother who
provides empathy
to my family and friends
life is tough you can either surrender
remain a victim blame it all on your own
for luck
or on others or you can create
the other route own the problem and
challenge and respond to it
and overcome it i’ve chosen the latter
option
but guess what this emotional agility
has not emerged from a vacuum i had to
go through phases
of questioning nearly everything in my
life
before owning the challenge and gaining
myself
initially i used to always ask god one
simple question why me
among six billion people all around the
world why did god
choose me to be one of those exceptions
to live without limbs
at first it was hard to believe the fact
that i’m different
watching other children playing running
wandering
jumping and even acting silly all around
while being the audience the entire
audience
had nothing but the audience
with the support of my family my
wonderful family
i started accepting and perceiving
myself and my surrounding from a more
positive lens
but unfortunately it wasn’t only about
being positive
the real challenge was not only
accepting myself but protecting
the self from people staring at me in
public places
scrutinizing my parts the missing and
the existing and creating these mixed
facial expressions
that range from sadness to pity to
astonishment the whole spectrum
of reactions i had a spontaneous option
to sit in this wheelchair mourn my luck
and grieve my life
or to live up to what i truly want
to define myself according to my own
dictionary
electionary perseverance hard work
reconciliation inner peace and innate
wisdom
after years of staying at home and
waiting for the opportunity to come
i’ve decided that it was about time to
create
this opportunity to do something special
and unique
something that none has done before at
least in lebanon
so practicing sports including mountain
climbing
might seem impossible for someone
without legs
for me it is now possible
and part of my weekly activities that i
commit
two years ago i had a chance to practice
wheelchair basketball
a new experience that was a bit odd at
the start
but then turned out to become a passion
after just four months of practice and
after participating in the lebanese
championship
the organizers selected me to play for
the lebanese national team
this was one of my greatest achievements
participating in these activities and
competitions liberated me
from my initial conception that i’m a
person confined by
its ability and who at best
can passively join as an observer
i am no longer the audience i am now the
show creator
and the active player and the director
of my own life
and journey reaching this level of
liberty
maturity and wisdom was neither ad hoc
nor accidental it was the accumulation
of many trial and error attempts of many
failures
and many downs but never
giving up
i have to acknowledge that this would
not have been possible
without the safety net that my family
and friends have created
i am blessed in having an ever
supporting father
and a big-hearted exceptional mother
i am so lucky to have true and authentic
friends
who’ve always included me and all their
plans and activities
with my friends i’ve always belonged and
never once felt
that i’m different or cut out from the
whole
you know every time i’m in public and i
notice
that people are reading me differently
honestly
i could not care less
all that concerns me is that i can
continue reading myself properly
defining myself according to my own
terms and conditions and not theirs
my take home message for you is to never
ever underestimate the power of change
within you own your problems
up and stress and persevere to move on
i’ve moved on with my life beyond the
boundaries of this wheelchair
and will continue to sustain my
liberated perception
of self finally
i’m neither disabled nor differently
abled
i’m actually very abled
but in my own unique way
thank you