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Temporarily Abled

by Ruth Ann Harnisch on 01/11/10 at 12:03 pm

Day 11

We’ve been talking about reinvention of one’s self from an intentional perspective.  But what if you had no choice in the matter? (Samantha Who?) 

The entertainer Barbara Mandrell  is a case in point.  My (late) first husband worked for her in the 1970s.  I learned a lot about show business – and life – from Barbara and her family.

She had one of the most successful county-music careers in America – hit records, big road shows, network television variety show, movies – she did it all.  But after a traumatic automobile accident, she didn’t.

The person who was at the wheel was Barbara Mandrell, entertainer extraordinaire.  The person who emerged from the head injury was – well, somebody else.  You can read about it in her book Get To The Heart .

Millions of people lose part of their personality/self through traumatic injury, drugs, or other maladies. You might slip away one day, too.  In another few years, Alzheimer’s Disease is expected to become the number one health problem.

When I was a reporter, I interviewed a woman who was an activist campaigning for the rights of what she called “people who are differently abled.”  She didn’t like the word “disabled” and she hated “handicapped,” and she told me we are ALL “temporarily abled.”  She said that most of us will, at some time in our lives, need to use crutches, a walker, a wheelchair, a hearing aid, or something else that is usually thought of as help for the disabled.  “So you’re temporarily abled,” she said.

That concept keeps me aware that everything about me, personality included, is temporary.  While I have the privilege of  conscious reinvention, I’m going to take advantage of that opportunity.   How about you?