Day #7 of 7 Days of Gratitude (Nominated by Sue Hakes and Kristi Renee Townshend) Im thankful for… 1) life -- the health, talents, and abilities Ive been gifted; 2) liberty -- the freedom of choice and opportunity as an individual around core values, beliefs, opinions, physical being; and, the 3) pursuit of happiness -- the opportunity to develop and use my talents, abilities, tools, and networks to shape a meaningful lifelong journey for myself, no matter what that might be, where it may occur, with whom I share it with, or how long each chapter of that journey may last. Without equal opportunity to these unalienable rights defined in our Declaration of Independence, I wouldnt have the opportunities I have today to maintain health, remain safe, live independently, participate with family and friends, contribute to my communities, plus grow as an individual, citizen, and professional. Not long ago (as recently as the early-1970s), people born with the diagnoses related to disability were placed in state institutions where they lived for the rest of their lives, without the equal opportunity for life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. The civil rights enlightenment during the 1970s and 80s, subsequent independent-living, plus socioeconomic and technological advancements have provided me with much greater opportunity. Granted, as a society, we still have a lot of work to do to create a truly inclusive, diverse society where everyone has equal opportunity to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But, wow, what a difference 40 years makes! Im optimistic, driven, excited to see where we are in another 40 years! I nominate Deanna Larsen and Michael Bischoff, two transformative people building communities and inspiring personal growth by courageously sharing vulnerabilities, to list three things they are grateful for and nominate two others to do the same over the next seven days.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 02:48:37 +0000