Continue reading »]]> How do we move the cause of Self-Advocacy forward? Self-Advocacy begins with the individual. Start with the mindset that I am tough, rugged, strong, powerful. I can cope and handle anything that life throughs my way and rise above it, succeed, and reach my goals. Self-Advocacy requires self-discipline, courage, and hardwork, and the ability to pick yourself off the floor when things don’t work out. It means never saying quit, and being committed to being all you can be.

People respect personal and physical strength. The two build on each other. This is why making fitness and wellness a high priority is so important. It helps a person be more assertive and to be more in control. It is also reduces wasteful passive-aggressive confrontations.

Last but not least, personal empowerment flows from beinging in touch with your value system and your understanding of spirituality. It is very important to know what is meaningful to you and to live in accords with that meaning.

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Continue reading »]]> I was told long, long time ago, that we have two ears but only one mouth, so we need to take special attention to listening before we yap away.

Family, friends, peers, and professionals have great insights and may have a wealth of information to share with us.

It is also my experience that the image we project to others influences greatly what people will say to us. If we project confidence, maturity, and assertivenss, people will talk to us in a more positive and constructive manner.

A funny thing is we need to listen to ourselves. What is our body, mind, and heart trying to tell us? May be we need to make a change, try a new opportunity, or may be we need to hang in there when the going gets tough. I feel in the long run, we make our own possibilities and potential.

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Continue reading »]]> Barbie Broadhurst just passed on recently. Her passage reminds me how each life touches someone else. This is especially important for us self-advocates to keep in mind.

We have lived and experienced so much that it is important for us to pass it on to others who are just beginning their journey on self-advocacy.

Life is about taking the time to celebrate others, especially while we still have them. Life is precious and far too short. We don’t know what tomorrow may bring.

These are words I need to tell myself. Be a message of hope and cheer to someone you care about. You may make a world of difference to that person.

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Continue reading »]]> Self-advocacy includes the whole person. I would like to say a word about wellness. This includes physical, mental, and spiritual well being. The three can be interrelated.

As I advance in age, I find I need to pay increased attention to my health. My life seems like a never ending schedule of medical appointments. My doctor has put his foot down about my weight. I am slimply too heavy and that is causing a number of other health issues.

I admit I got sloppy with my eating habits. I like food. I am totally bipartisan when it comes to food. I met with a nurse and we came up with a food eating plan. I am not up to an exercise plan, but I do need to get more active exercising 30 minutes four times per week.

This might not sound like much to you but for me this is a big change. I hope a have the discpline and resolve to stick with it.

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Continue reading »]]> While there is a lot of uncertainty out there regarding funding and services, we do have much to be thankful this year. The first is that we have eachother. We are stronger together than we are living and advocating by ourselves. We are also learning that we can’t take our rights and the services we rely upon for granted.

We need to be mindful of our social contract. We are members of society and our entitled to the rights of priveldges as such including procreation. Don’t let anyone tell you that there is something wrong with the word entitlement. It is a source of dignity, power, and respect.

We have the right of affiliation to have meaningful relationships social, personal, as well as intimate and all that it implies. We have the right of influence to have a say in the decisions in our lives at the personal as well as civic and political. We have the right to access the private and public resources. This includes safe, affordable, and reliable public transportation. We have right to have the opportunity to gain meaningful work, earn a fair wage, and engage in commerce, to have our own business if we so desire.

Yes we have much to be thankful for as we join with family in annual celebrations and festivities.

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