Not Disabled in Spirit

 Greetings again,

There are times when my disabilities get the better of me. There are times when I am drawn into the depths of depression due to my condition and the things I can't do. I dream of a time when this was not the case, but looking back it is simply not true. I have always had issues which have plagued me in a medical sense. The important thing is that I struggle, and I continue to struggle.

I refuse to be disabled in spirit. I will use my power to flourish. I will use my power to live the best life I can regardless of what issues there might be with my body. I will fight for every drop of life I can drink. 

I will not be disabled in spirit. I have a host of medical issues which plague me daily, but I will not accept that these will rule my life completely. I will not accept being disabled in spirit, I will fight for what I can do, where I can flourish. I will not accept that because I have disabilities I should sit back and watch life go by. No. This is not my life, and it will not be my life, I refuse to be disabled in spirit.

If you have a spirit of can, you can do a lot more than a spirit of can't. The challenges present in life are a chance to grow stronger, to learn from mistakes, and grow even more. The necessary thing here is that you are not disabled in spirit, but allow your spirit to flourish, regardless of what issues might plague you.

Cheers,

Henry.

What is a Disability Advocate?

 Greetings,

I thought this subject was pertinent for this blog, even though I have another for my political and social ramblings. However, I want to talk about a disability advocate, and why it is important all of us stand as disability advocates.

No, it doesn't mean you need to go stand on a street corner with a sign, or go hassling people for signatures. We can all advocate in our own ways. I have been posting on my wall, on Facebook, one image per day since July about disability issues, or things related to disability issues. Trying to get some people to think about the issues I am showing. I figure if I can't get my friends to stop, consider, and even care a little, there was little point in me trying to get strangers to do the same.

Advocating for disabilities means, leaving designated spots free for people who need them. Not just carparks, but also seats on trains and buses, and places for wheelchairs and scooters. It means being aware of those who use these devices, and encouraging, and even insisting that others be aware of them as well.

It means being aware of how we speak, not only about others, but ourselves as well. We need to be aware of words which put people down, and also those that lift people up. There are guides available on the internet from the US and Australia as well, not to mention other places. There is even one from the United Nations, which should not be surprising considering the presence of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities being present. 

Being an advocate is standing up for others, and standing up for humanity. Disability knows no differentiation of sex, race, colour, creed, religion, sexual preference, social status, or any other way people might want to divide us. You will find people with disabilities among all of these groups, so in standing up for disabilities you are standing up for humanity, and the best of humanity.

One quiet voice, can turn into a roar, when they support a cause they believe in. The same voice becomes deafening when it is supported by other voices. Become the voice that begins the roar.

Cheers,

Henry.

"I am Disabled"

Greetings,

There are people out there who will instantly reel in shock from those three words stating, “No, you should refer to yourself as a person with a disability.” To which my answer is and emphatic “No.” There is a story behind this and also a statement. 

I have always been chronically ill, it has only been the illness which has changed. I started off with asthma when I was young (misdiagnosed as chronic bronchitis to begin with). I spent most of my childhood bouncing from the doctors to home to hospital, so much so that the hospital got nicknamed my "second home." It may not have helped that I was having none of it, and was out doing what boys of my age were doing, playing sports, camping and generally having fun, but I sure as hell was not going to live in a bubble, as much as one of my friend's mothers decided she was going to try. I am not the sort of person who usually just gives in to my illness and goes and does nothing.

Once I just started to get my handle on this, as I grew and exercised more, I started getting pain in my fingers and my wrists, over a period of time this spread and began affecting all my joints. I got bounced from one rheumatologist to that, one specialist to that. No one had any answers in the beginning. The only thing that they could tell me was it was not in my head, there was "something" wrong. Not helpful in a world that wants names for things to put on paperwork. I proceeded with life as best I could denying the pain as best I could, denying that there was really anything wrong. It would take years before a) they gave a name to my problem (fibromyalgia) and b) before I would acknowledge that I had a disability, as much as I had friends (and some family) telling me so.

The fact that I can now own that title, the fact that I can now say, "I am disabled." gives me power. This is a part of myself that was missing for years. Now that I have a greater understanding of myself, I can do more, be more. I am embracing it even more these days. Waving it in people's faces to let people know that disabled issues have not been solved, and that we (as in the disabled community) will not be pushed aside. 

Go have a look at the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 or the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 if you're in Australia, read them well. Then, realise people with disabilities are still being ignored and denied human rights and freedoms other people take for granted. Why? Because people think that so long as these laws are followed, that's enough.

Now for the statement:

How I refer to myself, how I identify myself is more important than any label any other person might want to give me.

I find power in the statement, "I am disabled." Having a disability is a part of my life, and one that took me years to accept. It is not about being alone, quite the opposite, there is a community of people with disabilities. Having a disability just another state of being, it is just another state of being human. No different to being tall, short, thin, fat, black, white, or any of the many other labels we might use to describe ourselves. The state of being disabled just happens to have some other issues to contend with, most of which can be overcome if people in society have a care and consideration for their fellow man.

"Disability" and "disabled" are not a offensive words, people's reactions to them are, as are people's reactions to people with disabilities. 

People are concerned about "politically-correct" language, and don't want people to call themselves "disabled." Well, as a disabled person, I will say that that is not your choice, it is my choice what I call myself. It is my perspective which gives meaning to the statement of my identity, you don't have to understand it, it really only has to have meaning for me.

Cheers,

Henry.

Monetisation: A Question of Requirement

Greetings,

I have previously discussed the question of what my time is worth, and also a post about whether or not my time at university was a waste of time. I have been happy cruising along with my payments from Services Australia, under the auspices of the Department of Social Services. Yes, regardless of their re-branding, change of logo, or whatever, they are still the Department of Social Services, or DSS in Australia. However, more recently, there have been comments about what advantages I have, what privileges I have, and quite frankly with the way that the government has been managing the country, I have been feeling the squeeze on the more social/comfort parts of my life.

The result of all of this consideration? 

There needs to be a little background before I get to that. I write four blogs at the moment, this one, "A Fencer's Ramblings" my fencing blog where I discuss fencing and training in fencing, and all of the details that go along with that pursuit; "A Life with Fibromyalgia" where I discuss some of my medical history, and how I deal with my chronic illnesses, primarily fibromyalgia; and "Olde Wordes: An Examination of Elizabethan English" which began as a foundation for writing the Elizabethan portion of one of my books, which I published, His Practice in Modern and Elizabethan English. This was the second book that I have published, the first one was a book version of a series of my fencing blog articles, plus some extras added in, entitled Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings.

I write a lot most of my writing does not see the light of day, unless I find that the articles are of particular interest to a particular group. You can find a profile of me on academia.edu with more of my articles; these are more of a scholarly bend to them, though at least one of them is a bit of fun. The point here being that I have written a lot and seen very little in the way of financial recompense for the hours of work and the thousands and thousands of words I have written.

I have begun a profile on Patreon. I will be putting my more considered and researched articles on this site where people can pay me for the effort that has gone into producing the articles. I will not be removing articles from sites where they are already held, unless I do updates or improvements. In this case the newer versions will appear on the Patreon site for access to those people willing to pay me for my time and expertise.

I have no doubt that there will be some who will scoff at these efforts and who will make comment about the monetisation of my writing. To these people, I will say that I am simply expecting to be paid for the work that I am putting in, for the information that I am supplying, for the expertise that I am supplying in the process. If that is not sufficient explanation, then they can simply go elsewhere, as they are not my concern.

I will still put articles on my various blogs, but they will not be of the same size or quality that they used to be, they will be shorter, and likely pointing to more significant articles on the Patreon site. If you want someone to blame for all of this, you can blame the government; all the rich individuals who don't want to pay their taxes; and all those who still believe that people with disabilities choose not to work, and choose to allow their disabilities to impact their lives so much that the government keeps disability payments low, so low that they are under the taxable threshold, while the prices of basic food and accommodation rises.

Cheers,

Henry.