Unlimited Possibilities
It’s hard to believe we are getting ready to begin another year! 2025 is upon us. Some will sit down and make New Year’s resolutions. Others will immediately say, ‘I’m way past that! It never works for me!’ Still others look at this time as simply a time to consider possibilities!
I admit, I’m struggling with what looms before me since the loss of my husband. There are so many unknowns. Yet my situation isn’t unique. Many, in all walks of life could say the same thing.
Perhaps financial problems has a family in a place they’ve never been before, or one of the children are getting ready to leave for another state to attend college who has never been away before. Perhaps there’s a new little one on the way, or a marriage is in the near future. And still there’s the possibility that the breadwinner of the family is changing jobs—by choice, or is being laid off because the business dynamics are changing.
The possibilities are as numerous as there are people. We’d all like to believe the possibilities we face are those we’ve chosen and have a completely positive connotation. That isn’t, however, always the case.
A person with disabilities daily faces challenges of acquiring a quality education, simply because of their disability and the lack of accommodation. Thankfully, progress continues to move forward, even if it seems slowly.
Still others refuse to allow society’s expectation to deter them from following their dreams and proving that determination and dedication can create positive possibilities, even if it seems impossible! Foundations are being created and founded to help disabled students learn skills and use untapped talents to enable them to dream of the impossible and then reach those goals.
Another perspective with a positive trajectory for creating opportunities, includes working with parents who have children with disabilities. It’s an effort to educate and empower them to advocate for their children and also to enable them to better work with them, so success is a greater possibility! Isn’t that what all of us, as parents, want for out children?
Many people look at the disability community as inspirational, if one or more of those in their thought process witnesses success. We all want to be successful and take advantage of all our possibilities. Yet, some who are disabled cringe with horror at the idea they are ‘inspirational’. Their efforts are to have as ‘normal’ a life as any of the non-disabled peers.
They work with the ‘hand dealt them’ and strive for success and use the opportunities before them to the best of their ability. They believe since this is ‘their’ normal, perhaps we need to recognize it and include them in whatever opportunities are offered. When we recognize this ‘is their life’ and they want the same things we do, we’ve leveled the proverbial playing field. This leads to understanding, acceptance and ultimately inclusion in the modern world.
This also has the potential to provide each of us with unlimited possibilities when we look at it with equal exposure, rather than us verses them, and creates the likelihood that we each have unlimited avenues of success! Perhaps this is the year of YOUR success, in whatever form it comes! I say ‘go for it’!
That said, I wish each of you a wonderful 2025, filled with successes overflowing!
Happy New Year, everyone!