Differently abled

I have been busy with work. Not just busy working but also busy meeting people because of work. One gentleman, a shrewd businessman I met over blue tea and lovely Nyonya Kueh talked about his heritage, what it means to be Peranakan. This gentleman is passionate about the preservation of his heritage. Hats off to the Babas. He told me that "Singapore is borne of many traditions into one culture.What then is Singapore culture?" We chatted and in between sips of Teh and bites of Kueh, he also talked about helping the disadvantaged. One comment he made left an impact and had me looked at "disability" so very differently since. He said to me "Don't use the word 'disabled ' too easily. Too negative. Strong message that there is something wrong. Why not use 'differently abled'? Don't you think it is better?" Hmmm... Changes the whole mindset, indeed, "differently abled" is much better. Often, I realized that if one sense is taken away, the other four senses become sharpened. My own observation.

My young genius friend is an example of one who is differently abled. One whose other senses were "abled" to compensate for areas that were not great. My friend has a wonder brain, perfect pitch and a sense of humour that have me laughing alongside him each time we meet. My lunch dates with him always make me inspired and much enlightened. During my recent meal with him, he told me about the "inclusivity" drive that he is involved in and that he hopes companies should not consider being different such as deaf, mute, "wheel chaired" as reasons not to hire. IT ( info technology) is THE ENABLER. In IT industry, the deaf and mute can 'hear and speak' just as loudly and clearly as anyone. It doesn't matter if you can't walk to your desk! They compete fairly. No preferential treatment.

You know, I am having a great time meeting wonderful people and having these interesting conversations. All these ...because I started painting!!! 😱😱😱