This I Believe is a weekly feature on National Public Radio. The series features the beliefs of an incredibly diverse set of people with an amazing diversity of life experiences. I look forward to new episodes of the podcast each week as they magically appear on my I-pod.
I first read about this week’s installment of the series here. After reading about Dr. Rosenstein’s essay I was so excited to listen for myself.
On the bus, on my way to work this morning, I listened to Adapting to the Possibilities of Life as shared by Dr. Donald Rosenstein. I commend the episode to you. It is Dr. Rosenstein’s essay about how his 16 year old son with Autism has taught he and the rest of his family about the power and promise of adaptation.
Listening to Dr. Rosenstein’s essay reminds me again about the power of stories to educate and speak truth. The Interfaith Disability Connection has completed hundreds of disability awareness trainings in the last 8 years. When I began leading these training I thought that if I just imparted information to people they could and would do the right thing with the information.
I have come to understand that I had the incorrect approach. Education for change is not about the quality of the information shared. Changing perceptions is at the end of the day about connecting people to a couple of basic, universal stories.
First if we are to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities we must connect hearers with a story from their own life about a time when they were left out or made to feel different. Everyone knows this story and has a memory of what it felt/feels like to experience exclusion.
Second, we must tell stories of efforts that every day people have undertaken to be catalysts for welcoming the stranger in the community. This story must tell about both what happened and what difference the actions make for people with disabilities and their able-bodied peers.
If we can help communities to connect with and tell those fundamental stories we can help them recall the power of a congregation/community that includes us all.
Dr. Rothsein’s story, for me ,is about the movement that people make from being isolated from one another to becoming a part of a circle of love, care, trust and support. I am grateful for stories like this one. I am grateful for story-tellers and story-hearers. It is a movement from brokenness to community. This is sacred work, this story telling and story hearing, this echange.
I believe that in the exchange we begin the action of Tikkun Olam . Thanks Be to G-d.
Do you have a story to tell? Do you have a venue for the telling? Does your congregation/community have places for this story-telling and story-hearing to take place? If so, where and if not, could such an opportunity be created?