Due to being and crutches and by thereof surrendering my mobility, within the last couple of weeks I have come to appreciate the liberty of having one's own independence . However, the independence that I am referring to is not one of civil rights or having anything to do with that nature. No, the independence I am talking of is the , and to not have to always depend and rely on others. blessing to do things yourself
In our society it seems like there is a cycle. From birth to young childhood we tend to
rely on others. We ask for help in what can seem like very basic tasks. Yet as we grow older we tend to depend more solely on ourselves. Sure, we ask for help on our math homework and with things we don't understand, but most every-day tasks we are able to complete all on our own. There are the exceptions but come on, all of us are fully capable if we put all laziness aside. And then we begin to come full circle. As we approach the end of our lives, we tend to fall back into the ways of when we were infants. Not always out of desire, but as we grow old we yet again have to depend on others, furthermore losing our independence.
This "do it yourself" attitude can off the bat be perceived as somewhat stuck-up, but for me, I cannot wait until I don't have to ask my mom to help me with absolutely everything. Frankly, I
feel like a child . There is the ever classic saying that says "You don't know what you have until you lose it", which I have found to be absolutely true. For me, I have taken for granted the use of my legs. Because you never really understand how far away your backpack is - far away meaning all of three feet - until you either have to bug your parents or sister to help you - all of whom have better things to do with their lives - or the exhausting alternative of spending a hefty four minutes just getting your leg off the couch, standing, getting to your crutches, and then making the ever treacherous journey over to your backpack. Yes, by all means I am complaining. But this rather tedious dependence on others makes me feel rather useless. Of course I can still do things on my own, but at what expense? For lack of time and strength, and for the sake of saving myself the pain, I have to ask for help. But I can assure you am counting the days until I can walk to the next room to retrieve whatever item I forgot.
~ "The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence. " - Denis Waitley
~ "The first of earthly blessings, independence." ~ Edward Gibbon
Comments
I really enjoyed your post,
I really enjoyed your post, "Independence" because I think its great that you yern for the ability to be independent again. It seems as when people get to the stage in their lives where they "need" other people they just give up and dont even try to do things on their own. A simple post can tell a lot and feel free to correct me if im wrong but it seems as if you posess a great deal of chracter and I admire that to the fullest extent.
Two sentences you wrote that stood out to me were "There is the ever classic saying that says "You don't know what you have until you lose it", which I have found to be absolutely true. For me, I have taken for granted the use of my legs." I can totally agree with this because people seem to take things for granted all the time, and until you realize its gone or that theres even a possibility that you might lose it you will never act it.
Something else that stood out for me was when you said "Yes, by all means I am complaining. But this rather tedious dependence on others makes me feel rather useless." I feel like you have every right to feel the way you do. No one wants to be a charity case (unless you do which is some what pathetic) but the feeling you have when you can do something on your own like bring in the bags of groceries for your mom and prove that your useful or go to school and get back home on your own. To me its normal for you to feel the way you do.
Your post reminds me of when i broke my right arm. I too took it for granted alot and did a lot of stupid things with my right arm always putting it in harms way until my luck finally ran out. I was joking around and let myself trip in the dumbest way in gym and came straight down and broke my arm and it was then that i began to treat my arm as if it was my little baby until it finally recovered. You truly dont know what you have until you lose it.
I really enjoyed your post and i look foward to your next piece because i like posts that are easy for people to relate to, along with the fact that it was pretty down to earth.