Quite often, we come across someone, we think of, as disabled,
And quickly correct our thought, they are differently abled,
If we only took the time to understand, what makes us perfect,
We would know, anything perfect, is merely an unrecognized defect.
He who has never walked in somebody else’s shoes,
Never set a foot forward without finding an excuse,
And has never stood up to bear their share of blame,
He is the one who is truly invalid and lame.
He who has never lent an arm to a fallen friend,
Never shared a shoulder for the desolate to defend,
And has never held the hand of a person whose dream has snapped,
He is the one who is truly crippled and handicapped.
He who has never consoled a completely despondent soul,
Never spared a kind word to restore someone to whole,
And has never let their compassion into speech succumb,
He is the one who is truly muted and dumb.
He who has never heeded the grief suppressed in every cry,
Never listened to those pleading to give them another try,
And has never turned towards the sound of the poignant,
He is the one who is truly deaf and indifferent.
He who has never seen a fellow in need,
Never observed how tears colorlessly bleed,
And has never witnessed how all our lives are entwined,
He is the one who is truly benighted and blind.
Failure to acknowledge the truth is the only real disability,
Failure to channel your humanity is the only true inability,
Before you judge if somebody is fit and able,
Take a look at how much you yourself are capable.
This one is for the Mirror, being a continuation of my series on Godism. This continues from where Godforsaken, Unbelong, and Is There left off. I have often found it funny how people encounter someone who has a physical deficiency, and their expressions range from pity, to sorrow, to surprisingly, even loathing. But the one expression, i rarely see, is relief. It makes me wonder why people never look at an experience of looking at someone with a physical deformity, or deficiency, as a reminder, of all that they need to be thankful for, and as a reminder to introspect at what they are doing with these amazing gifts that they have been bestowed. Sight, touch, motion, speech, hearing, all these wonderful gifts, that we take for granted, not realising they all have a purpose, a reason we were given these (not just biology or evolution).
We look at a dumb person trying to speak something, and we feel their pain at not being able to speak it aloud. We ponder, on what they would say, if they could. What would their choice of words be, if you could gift them speech, how would they use it. But we never pause to think, we already have speech, we never feel the pain of our words, because we believe they will never run out, and never stop to consider if we cause more pain through our words, than they feel due to their silence. We never pause to ponder, if we are making the right use of our gifts, and instead wonder why God didn’t gift someone else what we already have. We are so bothered about the contents (or lack thereof) of someone else’s gift bag, that we fail to notice the contents of our own gift bag. We just assume they belong to us. It never occurs to us, to maybe share our gift, since they don’t have it, like speaking up for those who can’t speak, listening for/to those who cannot hear.
We spend so much time, analyzing someone else’s words, to identify the anger, hatred, sorrow, pain in them, that we fail to realise that our words too express similar emotions. If we spent more time concentrating on the contents of our gift bag, and understanding how best to use them, we would be better off, than trying to direct someone else about how they must speak, or where they must tread. If each of us took care of the words coming out of our mouths, took a few seconds to understand the implication of those words, the impact it would create on the listener, the pain/hurt it could cause someone, we can change those words before they get expressed. So, for all practical reasons, we can all speak, and are yet dumb, because we misuse our gifts, by not using them for the right purposes. Having a bulb is as useless as having no bulb, when you decide to use the bulb as a candle-stand. The whole tirade around speech, was just one example. The same goes for all the other sense that we have. The next time you do anything, think about how it will impact the world. You cannot change the world, but you can definitely change where and how your footprint falls on it.
Btw, this was the last poem in my current notebook. The book lasted me a good 6 years. Guess it’s time for a new book, and a brand new style, one more flexible in form.
*
Be the first to comment.