Disguised in Disability: Sharing Life's Journey with an Extraordinary Teacher

Autism, intellectual disability, special needs, down syndrome, challenging behavior- a series of words and phrases that have condemned millions of individuals and their families to an experience of life that, for the main part, has been cruel and unforgiving. For centuries, seemingly no greater curse or affliction could have been visited on humankind.

But have we got it wrong?

Is it possible that we have really missed something?

I want to share with you a part of my journey in life that I was blessed to walk in the company of a person who lived on the extreme edges of our society as a result of his intellectual difference.

It was the summer of 1991 when our paths first crossed. I was 23 years old and he had yet to reach his 19th year. The quarter of a century that was to follow could only be described as miraculous. The experiences shared and the lessons learned in the company of this marginalized man directed the course of my life in ways that were, quite simply, unimaginable. The mountains scaled, the challenges confronted, the demons defeated and the successes savoured were never external to me because the journey undertaken was a journey to the interior. An open mind, an untethered spirit and a compassionate heart were the staging posts on an expedition whose ultimate destination was a resting place of greater inner freedom. With the passing of years, I grew to appreciate evermore the gift of another Presence which shone most brightly through my friend, shedding light upon my path and giving meaning to my own life. Over time I came to deeply respect and love someone who enabled me to discard the many veils that had clouded my vision for so long and in whose company I was repeatedly invited to look anew with courage and clarity at the many pillars in my life that needed to be dismantled so that a clearer, more expansive and joyful reality could be imagined, embraced and created. The journey that we walked together opened my eyes and I came to see that the people we pay little attention to, those who occupy society's peripheral position, have much to impart to us and that it is often within the wastelands of our societies that our greatest teachers reside.....