As someone living with an invisible condition

I often struggle with the concept of ableism and how it manifests itself in my life

People have expectations of me based on how they perceive me

But I often can’t meet those expectations

Which most often leaves me feeling helpless

Or like I am not good enough the way I am

It feels like I have to do extra to make up for past errors

And for a long time I have felt like my identity is rooted in how others perceive me, and by extension I have felt like I can somehow control the way others perceive me

But what I am now realizing is that ableism comes in many forms

The world around us shapes our expectations and experiences

It also informs how we interpret and react to our lived experience

Ableism is rooted in ignorance

We can shed ableism only through self awareness

So take a moment to self-reflect on the compassion you show yourself

Are you forgiving enough keep moving forward even when you make mistakes? Can you accept when things are not exactly as you’d hoped?

I invite you to consider in what ways you project that into the world

True equity exists at the nexus between self awareness, willingness and empathy

We must be willing to accept and navigate our differences together

Refusal to do so is what has historically caused us such chaos and suffering as a society

We must learn to truly hear each other

My ableism toward myself was rooted in a resistance to accept the reality of my condition

And when I stop to think about it, that seems to be the same place that all ableism comes from

Ableism is ignorance in action

There’s no excuse for it