“As soon as your brain starts telling you that you can’t have a tree that is blue then you stop being able to paint trees.” ~ Semir Zeki
When I read this quote in regards to why an artist should never censor true expression, I can’t help but extend this notion to all of us, no matter the “canvas” on which we express ourselves. In other words, if we don’t listen to who we really are, or pay attention to how we see things, we won’t be able to do what we really want to do.
Our brains tell us all sorts of things: Too old. Too soon. Too late. Not enough time. What will people think? I might offend. I am not good enough. Without even knowing it, we create disabilities for ourselves that don’t really exist. We want to paint the tree blue, but don’t think we are allowed, and then find ourselves giving up on painting the tree altogether.
Sometimes, we are, indeed, faced with obstacles outside of self talk, our thoughts, and feelings. At age 36, Sargy Mann was faced with suddenly becoming fully blind after working as a visual artist his whole adult life. I highly recommend reading this article called “Sargy Mann, The Blind Painter of Peckham” and/or watching this brief documentary about how Mann learned to see in a different way so as to continue working as a visual artist even though his eyes no longer worked in the conventional way.
Mann didn’t let who he had become -a blind man – be a disability. In fact, he took what he had become -a blind man- and created new abilities. He says, “Once I had started painting blind, there was no stopping me. It just became the new way of doing it. It was difficult, but art had always been difficult, and having a new set of difficulties was no bad thing.”
To quote another artist speaking from the same vein:
“Everybody has it, but most people never figure it out. You’ve got to be able to see yourself for what you are, and not until then can you be what you want to be.”
~ Bruce Springsteen
In a world where we strive for independence and self-sufficiency, people with disabilities remind us that we are all dependent in some way.”
However, there is an “impulse” to turn away from these reminders, “lock them away in institutions” and make assumptions about what people can and cannot accomplish based on their disabilities. When we see someone with a disability, we are faced with our own limitations, which we try to avoid altogether.
What if we saw our limitations as nothing else but an opportunity? A lucky chance to seek out help and get the support we need to gracefully move forward? Knowing when to ask for help or depend on another takes courage and grace.
Persons with cognitive and physical disabilities are our greatest teachers in this regard, as they have no choice but to depend on the mercy of others’ help to manage their lives, hopefully live fully, and reach their most basic goals.
Meet Judith Scott. Up until she passed away in 2005, she was a flourishing artist. She had Down Syndrome. Before her days of showing her work in art galleries, Scott spent most of her life in an institution considered to be “profoundly retarded” and “ineducable”. Read her amazing story of graceful dependence here .
The term A.D.H.D (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) gets thrown around liberally – often inaccurately. We use it to describe children who can’t sit still. We label adults who struggle with following through with plans. We even casually call ourselves A.D.H.D in a quick moment when we go to take care of one thing, and then suddenly find ourselves doing something entirely different.
What is A.D.H.D really?
What kind of help is out there? And is this help, including medication, enough to facilitate the changes individuals diagnosed with A.D.H.D need to function optimally in society? More importantly, are we attempting to change the right things? In his op ed piece entitled “A Natural Fix for A.D.H.D”, Richard Friedman sheds light on how the hardwiring of the brain’s reward circuit system plays a large role in symptoms associated with A.D.H.D. He further explains how our society needs to go beyond trying to “fix” people with A.D.H.D symptoms , and start being more aware of ways we can be more accommodating of this so called “illness”.
If you are only going to read one article about A.D.H.D, this is a good one.
