Impact

I’d think I would be used to being blown away by now, but I am amazed every time.
I was reading something about a disabled guy in Maryborough.  He had issues and could not communicate as we do.  He was given a camera and it was assumed it maybe had no film.  He would sit in town and take photo’s.  Only when he passed away was his collection of 40,000 pictures discovered and a number of them were exhibited to great acclaim.  He made it into Time magazine.
I was thinking about putting the gist of it on Facebook, acknowledging where it came from and not writing anything myself.
That afternoon I got together with friends, and one said they had a disabled child and soon after another said it.  Merril had been out and got home and told me of a discussion she had been having.  It was about the disabled.
I thought to myself “maybe this is something I should be thinking about” (I may be slow, but sometimes I do get it.)
Since I had the stroke that I have a newfound appreciation of what is faced.  Even the term “disabled” implies lack, when really in many cases it seems to be “hiddenly abled.”  They say, and I have found it to be true, that the loss of one thing often is a precursor to the heightening of another.
I am a great believer that everyone has something to give.  Some things may be harder to find, but they are there.
Once I reckon it would have been harder than maybe it is now.  But I do reckon that just because something is deemed to be “politically incorrect”, it does not change what is in a person’s heart.
Once upon a time people like Stephen Hawkins would have been written off.  Seen as someone who had nothing to contribute.  I may not agree with all his conclusions, but I will not dispute he had a brilliant mind.
My mum ended up looking after a fellow because she was deemed to be his nearest relative.  He lived in Ayr North Queensland, and she moved there (the day she arrived a cyclone was hitting the town – quite an introduction).  It could be messy, and he be unreasonable.  My brother moved up to help and ended up looking after both mum and him.
This person walked into town every day and brought the town together.  Everyone looked out for him.  The local paper did a story on him.  His impact may have not been as a city counsellor, but there is a good chance it was greater.  Fame may give me a greater scope for impact, but it is not necessary for making an impact.
Impacts can be great or small, but everyone makes one.  It is up to me both to find my passion and follow it, and how the impact of another will be on me.  Stay tuned.