Written By: Anna Giannakouros
Facing Disability
“If the only thing that people learned was not to be afraid of their experience, that alone would change the world.” – Sydney Banks
One of the biggest challenges I ever had to face in my life was coming to terms with being disabled.
Having a disease was one thing and for years I felt the symptoms of it while no one had a clue that there was anything I was going through. When it started to affect my walking though, and people started noticing, I had reached a new stage and it was a difficult one.
I had to start telling people what I was facing. In reality, the hardest part in that had nothing to do with other people more than it had to do with me facing it myself.
After trying everything I could possibly try to “cure myself” of what I considered to be this “awful disease that was slowly robbing me of my body” I had reached a dead end. My worst fears had been realized: The disease was progressing; I wasn’t able to walk without aid; I was officially and clinically disabled.
Accepting this set me in a new direction, one that I couldn’t exactly physically walk through but had no choice but to psychologically walk through:
I had to change my lifestyle and stop doing a lot of the things I enjoyed;
I had to redefine myself and my life;
I had to face my fears;
I had to look within and find the answers no one could give me
It sucked!
But, in retrospect, it has been and continues to be, the most rewarding process of my life.
Innocently, we don’t realize that it’s possible to feel at peace even when tragedy or great loss has occurred. When we are faced with something we hate that we can’t change we think that letting go of life as we knew it will be very difficult or impossible and that we will never live our best life again. But that doesn’t have to be the case. If you believe that you are defeated, that will be your truth. If you are opened to evolution though, then that becomes your knew truth. The catalyst is you.
You are always the one creating your experience through your beliefs and perception. Don’t be afraid of your experience for you always in control of it.
Whatever you hate you perpetuate.
Whatever you think you become.
Whatever you vibrate you create.
Only your own thinking about a situation can affect you
“It’s not what happens in life that bothers us. It’s what we’re believing about it that bothers us.” – Byron Katie
When I stopped seeing disability as a terrible, life changing thing, I began to see my life differently.
I stopped resisting what was and I let go of the ideas that I had around disability and what that meant for me in my life. I became opened to the idea that I can have an incredible human experience irrelevant to not being able to move like I use to.
People ask: “How do you get passed a thing like that?” The answer is: You gravitate towards what makes sense and feels healing and right to you. How do you do that? We each have an internal guidance system that is always working for us and pointing us towards peace and fulfillment, no matter what our circumstance is. Listen to that guidance. When you are thinking things that make you feel sad or stressed, the system is telling you that your thoughts are not serving you. When you are feeling clear minded, hopeful and good, the system is guiding you in the direction to take. It sounds very elementary but it really is as simple that.
When the answers are simple and clear, that is our intuition guiding us. When you feel confused and stressed, that is only our minds overcomplicating things, often times clouded my fear. That means, you are believing the wrong thoughts and going in the wrong direction.
You can get through anything in life when you are opened to it. That is just how we are all built, each and every one of us. And the beautiful part is when you do get through it, you realize, it was all always fine to begin with. No matter what happens to us in life, the essence of the magnificence of who we truly are always remains unchanged. Only our own thinking prohibits us from realizing and feeling that.
In understanding that, I realized the same is true for any challenge we face in life; only are own thinking is the obstacle we can’t overcome when we think it to be true that an obstacle cannot be overcome. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Work
Do I miss walking and running and being nimble and free? Of course I do. Egoically and physically there are so many things I wish I can have. I wish I could go hiking high in the mountains and swimming deep in the ocean. I wish I could run marathons and dance the night away night like I use to. There are reminders everywhere of the free, strong and independent way of being I can no longer, be.
Then I remind myself, it’s not what is happening that is hurting me, isn’t it actually my thoughts about what is happening that is hurting me? How do I feel when I dwell on the things I can no longer do? How do I feel when I identify with a statement like “My life will never be the same again and I can no longer do the things that made me feel happy and alive?”
When I identify with that I feel emotions like the following: sad; lost; hopeless; scared; angry; resentful; confused; depressed.
So, right here we see an example of how our thoughts directly impact our emotions. Of course we can’t help circumstances or what we think sometimes and it’s normal and healthy to experience and release negative emotions. But, realizing that it’s our own beliefs about our thoughts that impact us emotionally, helps, and that allows us to see that it’s ok to feel something and just let it pass. We don’t have to hold on to it. Our thoughts are neutral and endless, only the importance we place on them affects us. It is fascinating and helpful to realize that and it gives you a different, less personal, perspective on things.
Byron Katie is an author and speaker who developed a method named “The Work” which asks a series of questions in order to help identify the beliefs we have that cause our own unhappiness. I will use part of it in this example to show how it helps me identify when my thoughts aren’t serving me and how that helps to turn it around to a different direction.
The Work Method:
Belief /Thought: “My life will never be the same again and I can no longer do the things that made me feel happy and alive.”
Is it really true? Yes it is.
Can you absolutely know that it’s true? Well, now that I think about it, my life will never be the same doesn’t have to mean it will not be a good life. Also, there are things I can no longer do that made me feel happy and alive but there are still many things that I can do that make me feel happy and alive. In fact, I realize I don’t have to actually “do” anything to feel happy and alive. I am fine just the way I am.
So, I guess the answer is, no, I don’t know if this is absolutely true. In fact, it is not true. For everything I am unable to do, there are a million things I can do.
How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?I feel sad; hurt; discouraged; lost; hopeless; scared; angry; resentful; confused; depressed.
Who would you be without that thought? I would be happy, hopeful, motivated and excited to be alive.
Turn it around:“My life will always be magnificent no matter what and I will always be able to do things that make me feel happy and alive.”
Now, this different perspective allows me to see things more clearly. New thoughts are flooding in that feel certain and good. I feel peaceful and on the right track. Example:
To think and live unhappily is not an option I choose; I let go of the thoughts that don’t serve me; I realize that nothing can hold me back from living my best life no matter what my circumstance is; I feel happy, hopeful, motivated and excited to be alive; My way of being is independent of my physical challenges.
Doing this type of inner work is uncomfortable in the inside, that is the hard part, but in doing that, you shift, and are then free to live your best possible life on the outside.
What are the thoughts you have that are holding you back? Do the work and challenge them.
Buzzaround
People resist mobility aids thinking that using or needing them is some kind of defeat.
A consequence of that is that they may end up losing out on good experiences because they don’t go out as regularly, foregoing on events and outings because of mobility concerns. For example, If you’re going to be exhausted dragging your legs around at a wedding or the zoo, where’s the fun in that?
Or they simply just stay at home in bed because they are too tired to move after physically exerting themselves.
If you are stuck in situations concerning your mobility constraints you are not living and thriving in the present moment.
As our bodies change it can be difficult to accept limitations with grace, but realize, that is only a thought. Does it really have to be difficult? Have the courage to face uncomfortable emotions because on the other end of that, is freedom.pow hoe
When you stop viewing your mobility challenges as impossible obstacles, new solutions present themselves.
For me, the solution was clear: If you can’t move from A to B on your own, then find another way. That’s as neutral as it is and doesn’t have to be more complicated or loaded than that. It doesn’t have to mean anything more. I still walk as much as I can with aid and move and exercise every day, everyone should be doing that, and in addition, I use my mobility aids. It is not an all or nothing approach, it is simply common sense.
I use the Envy Powerchair in my home and the Buzzaround scooter everywhere else.
I absolutely love my Buzzaround scooter! It has opened up the door for me to live as able bodied and independent as I possibly can. It is so easy to control, transport and maneuver. The scooter is a delight to use and I highly recommend it to anyone facing walking or energy challenges.
Here are some of the many reasons why I love this scooter so much:
- I use it every day to leave my house.
- It’s easily and effortlessly driven into and out of my minivan.
- It easily folds into the trunk of my car.
- It’s light weight for easy transport and storage.
- It’s cool looking, convenient and comfortable.
- It’s compact and easily maneuverable indoors or outdoors.
- I use it at the gym, market, mall, movie theatre etc…
- I use it to walk my dog.
- I use when visiting people’s homes and as its lightweight, easily brought up and down stairs.
- I take it on all my vacations because it is airline friendly, easily collapses into its own travel bag and makes travel seamless and easy. It is fantastic for hotels and resorts. It has brought vacationing to a whole new level of enjoyment.
- It’s easily and quickly charged and I love that it comes with two batteries so that there’s always a battery available fully charged.
This scooter has brought my level of independence and convenience to the next level. I’m too busy living my life to be thinking of my disability.
If you are or know someone who has mobility challenges or has limited energy consider purchasing a Buzzaround Scooter ! It’s a wonderful gift of support, independence, and quality of life. It’s a perfect gift for the Holiday Season!
