When I was first diagnosed with having Friedrich’s Ataxia and was told that I will not be able to walk again, it was very heartbreaking and seeing a wheelchair for the first time was not a welcoming sight for me. At that point it felt like my life was coming to an end. All my dreams and ambitions were shattered and the question why did it happen to me kept being repeated in my mind. Being the only child of my parents was also very tough for my parents to accept in the beginning.
Advantage of being Positive in Life
Over the years the wheelchair has proved to be a source of strength for me. It is very important to have a positive frame of mind when you are faced with an obstacle in life. In the Quran it is repeated time and again that the ability to struggle in life for something is of utmost importance even though you may not achieve your desired goal. I always have tried to follow the simple philosophy in life which I have taken from a motivational speaker and one of my inspirations W. Mitchell. “It is not what happens to you It is what you do about It”. Life is unpredictable and lot of things happen over which you have no control. At the end of the day you get to choose as to how to live your life, as it is you who knows what you capable of doing. The choice is whether to live life with a positive attitude, get out of your comfort zone, make things happen or to accept life as it is, feeling frustrated and doing nothing about it.
I have chosen to be positive in life, never to give up and have the will power to succeed which has been the result of my being physically challenged. I have never let my disability come in the way of what I have wanted to achieve. My being able to swim without discomfort is the result of being positive in life. Similarly my giving motivational talks is due to the belief in my abilities of achieving something for the underprivileged people. It gives me immense satisfaction to be able to inspire and motivate people to make Pakistan more wheelchair friendly.
Disabled people having greater Will Power
So the point is that disability is not a inability. People who are disabled are ab led in many other things. I can give you the example of a couple of my inspirations such as Stephen Hawking and W. Mitchell. Hawking despite of his being paralyzed is one of the leading professors of Physics and what he has achieved is truly great. It is for people to understand and acknowledge what a disabled person is capable of doing. W. Mitchell is another example who also despite of being in a wheelchair never gave up in life and is the President of the International Association of Speakers in the United States. He had a fiery motorcycle accident which burnt 65% of his body and had an airplane crash which took away his ability to walk. Mitchell now soars above the rest with grace, good humor and gumption. Mitchell speaks with passion about the human spirit.As you can see these points strengthen my case about disabled people having that extra will power to do well and being able to never give up in life.
Equal opportunities must be provided to Disabled People
All of us are blessed with inner strengths. It’s just through circumstance, some of us have to use them more than others. That is what makes disabled people special. I am sure there are countless stories of disabled people being able to achieve immeasurable success.
I have always learnt never to let failures prevent me from what goals I have wanted to achieve no matter how insurmountable the challenge is. It would be my advise to everyone in Pakistan never to think of disabled people as someone who are incapable of achieving anything in life. They must be given equal opportunities like other individuals to test what they are capable of accomplishing. I will conclude on a beautiful saying:
“ In the midst of winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer”.
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