Differences and Disability

Many people focus on what a person cannot do, learn, move, or see. They consider how someone is limited. In my writing, in my life, I do my best to focus on what people can do, what they can do well, and areas they can excel. That may be what makes me suited to writing fairytales, but it also gives me a different view of the world.

Gordon was so powerful he was shunned and avoided by many others, causing him to isolate. Hanna suffered psychological damage from her families abuse and neglect. Trissy and her sister were among the few survivors of a plague. Heron suffered from excessive grief, walking away from his past. Not a single character of mine is without real challenges. Hipita has poor eyesight, a physical disability that we all recognize, but it makes her no less valuable as a soother, mate, or clan member.

People have different views of the world around them. Mine happens to include value. I value the contribution of others even if they are different, and generally, I enjoy the differences. Are there differences I find disturbing? Of course. Those people that gain enjoyment from the victimization of others worry me. Generally I try to keep them separate from my personal life.