It was wonder-full just now reading this piece- I was immersed in it because along with your including several of the Fantasia illustrations, I could hear the music from the movie in the background of your entire writing! and I was re-feeling all that I feel every time I watch Fantasia, a movie I never tire of, but have never analyzed as to why...I so appreciate your connecting it to your own personal experiences of being ADHD, and your commentary on the frustrations of most of the world treating ADHD as either a problem to be solved or a delightful eccentricity to be enjoyed, rather than a whole picture of a bit of both and beyond...this was especially helpful as my niece is ADHD among other things, and so it gives me a much better understanding of her now, and since we are very close that is most helpful to me! So thank you for sharing of yourself so beautifully and colorfully (literally) and honestly - a great gift!
Correction: I meant to reference the Sorcerer's Apprentice illustrations you included, and the music specifically of the Sorcerer's Apprentice, rather than saying "Fantasia illustrations" and Fantasia music, that was going through my head while reading your piece...
Thank you for so eloquently helping me to understand myself and reminding me that none of the experiences of sensing the world have to be binary like everyone wants us to be! We can feel it all and enjoy and struggle and lean in or away or let ourselves be swept into the middle sometimes like rip current we know we can get back from if we only just don’t panic and if we’re only patient enough and rest enough.
yes to the muchness of it all, even when we can't quite tell where the middle of it starts or ends... I love the roll of what you've written here.... the binary is so protective of its beginnings, middle, endings and pristine this-or-thats.
I am breathless after reading this. Gosh your writing is luminous!!! The thing that strikes me about the Trouble and the Gifts is that they seem like two sides of the same coin... Ableism. Because ableism is a ranking system based on how far you diverge from the gold standard (ie how burdensome you are). And so any attempt to lessen the Trouble is the same as any attempt to acknowledge the Gifts. "See how not burdensome we are?!" It's all a ruse. A false scheme to raise us back up to some sort of 'acceptable' level on the hierarchy.
It was wonder-full just now reading this piece- I was immersed in it because along with your including several of the Fantasia illustrations, I could hear the music from the movie in the background of your entire writing! and I was re-feeling all that I feel every time I watch Fantasia, a movie I never tire of, but have never analyzed as to why...I so appreciate your connecting it to your own personal experiences of being ADHD, and your commentary on the frustrations of most of the world treating ADHD as either a problem to be solved or a delightful eccentricity to be enjoyed, rather than a whole picture of a bit of both and beyond...this was especially helpful as my niece is ADHD among other things, and so it gives me a much better understanding of her now, and since we are very close that is most helpful to me! So thank you for sharing of yourself so beautifully and colorfully (literally) and honestly - a great gift!
"a bit of both and beyond" -- yes, I love that way of phrasing it! Thanks Beth, this note means a lot as I try sharing some new things here.
Correction: I meant to reference the Sorcerer's Apprentice illustrations you included, and the music specifically of the Sorcerer's Apprentice, rather than saying "Fantasia illustrations" and Fantasia music, that was going through my head while reading your piece...
Thank you for so eloquently helping me to understand myself and reminding me that none of the experiences of sensing the world have to be binary like everyone wants us to be! We can feel it all and enjoy and struggle and lean in or away or let ourselves be swept into the middle sometimes like rip current we know we can get back from if we only just don’t panic and if we’re only patient enough and rest enough.
yes to the muchness of it all, even when we can't quite tell where the middle of it starts or ends... I love the roll of what you've written here.... the binary is so protective of its beginnings, middle, endings and pristine this-or-thats.
I am breathless after reading this. Gosh your writing is luminous!!! The thing that strikes me about the Trouble and the Gifts is that they seem like two sides of the same coin... Ableism. Because ableism is a ranking system based on how far you diverge from the gold standard (ie how burdensome you are). And so any attempt to lessen the Trouble is the same as any attempt to acknowledge the Gifts. "See how not burdensome we are?!" It's all a ruse. A false scheme to raise us back up to some sort of 'acceptable' level on the hierarchy.
thanks, Tahlee -- ruse is such a good word for it and also so wonderfully close to "ruin," I'm naturally all-in on that thought!
Just here to say I hate Fantasia because it gave me horrible nightmares as a child.
That was Wizard of Oz for me, so I get it! It's funny which movies hit the nightmare nerve and which ones don't.
Fully agree!