'Wired/Me,' by Clarise


Peaks, Valleys, Boundaries, and Sky:
Living with Permanent Disability
by Clarise

"Disabled." It's a word I hear when people are referring to certain aspects of a computer. Or my voice mail. It's how we turn things off, in the '90s. Sometimes, we do that to allow room for other things in our lives. A part of me is now disabled. It's changed everything, and nothing. Some days are good; others a wreck. Just like everybody else, I guess. Just like before I was "disabled." These are the peaks and valleys of any life.

Slowing down has been the most difficult task. But no longer running my mind or my body at a rapid pace has its own gifts, too: I've begun painting. That's what my work is about, for me: reaching out, stretching, accomplishing. I now have time to slowly, slowly, touch the sky.




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