At the beginning, there is only possibility. Starting a relationship, taking a new job, giving birth to a child: at the beginning – with nothing to stop you from dreaming, nothing to convince you that it can’t be done, that it isn’t possible – it is all about what might be.
Reality sets in fairly rapidly: the lover has a temper; the work is hard; the baby has a disability.
Possibilities suddenly shrink to fit the limits imposed by the situation. It is as if, in the face of a challenge, we immediately concede defeat. We agree that we were silly to have even thought about that life of soaring possibility. We give up our dreaming- rights.
But what if we didn’t? What if we acknowledged the limits, accepted the challenge and said we still believed in the dream? What if we still expected a life of possibility?
Those other complications aside, disability is a jolt so major it is actually an opportunity. The most ordinary people (I’m one of them) have a chance at greatness.
Because disability invites us to look at everything with new eyes. Suddenly, we see our assumptions (who’s smart, who’s not; who’s graceful, who’s not) as assumptions – not truths carved in stone. Suddenly, the world opens up and we realize that we ourselves are the ones placing boundaries, imposing limits, denying possibility.
And then we’d better get down to business. A sense of possibility is all very well, but to achieve anything we need concrete action and a sense of urgency: there is so much to do and only so much time to do it.
The past year the Foundation has been a beehive of activity. The coming year promises more of the same. Our possible world is coming to life. Talented new people have joined us . Our old faithfuls are even smarter and more skilled. We’ve won major awards. The government is paying attention. We’re building our own campus.
It’s all coming true, and so much is because of you. We couldn’t have done it without you and we cannot do it without you. Thank you for making the possible actual . Thank you for all the possibility yet to come.
-–Jo Chopra
