[Photo Description: Me, eyes closed with my friend poking my nose. Only my face and her arm are in frame. It is a beautiful evening with the sun setting in the background, sometime during this summer]
Since my blog is not well-known and I don’t get feedback aside from likes, I decided that the topics I want to discuss will be featured in the order I wrote them a few weeks ago in posts from here on out. For the week of 11/10, the topic is “motivating” versus “inspiration.” (or, really, “motivational versus inspirational”)
But first, how was the 11/10 for me? Well, first off, it was nice to have a day off from work on that Monday, though I think everyone loves a random day off from their job, right? Anyways, I seem to be having some more days at home than out. First off, I don’t want to spend money and second off, I want to eat but I don’t want to eat for the sake of waiting time with friends. Those days of wanting to go out but also not wanting leave have been increasing and I’m not sure if it’s due to adulting (by saving my time and money) or taking a step back from drama. Maybe both. Maybe both are happenin’ at the same time (Forrest Gump voice). Drama with the dating scene. Drama between friends. I know it’s a normal occurrence but I don’t want to bother. As one great Queen song stated, “Let me live. Leave me alone.”
Onto the topic! “Motivational” versus “inspirational.” Now, most of you will probably know what I am hinting at. Yes. If you thought I was going to talk about Disability Studies a bit, I am! Even though I joke about being inspiration or philosophical on my blog, I often have been worried about posting a blog in the first place for coming off as inspiration. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of disabled bloggers have that fear. Because, more often than not, we are seen as “inspirational” instead of “motivational.” And why is that so bad? Well, let’s look at the definition of the two words.
The Merriam-Websters dictionary defines “motivational” as a “force, stimulus, or influence” propelling people while”inspirational” is defined as “a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation.”
I find it concerning that being “inspirational” suddenly qualifies you as “divine” and “sacred.” Yes, I am divine. I am beautiful. I am sacred because there is only one of me. But I felt that there was a more religious undertone being given to this definition. Why is this concerning to me, you ask?
I don’t consider myself as “divine” because of me being disabled. Why are disabled folk being considered “inspirational” because we got out of bed in the morning? Yes, there are disabled people who have trouble getting out of bed. There are days when the chronically-ill can’t even lift themselves up. There are physically disabled people who can’t move from side to side in their bed without assistance. Yes, we exist in those mediums as well. But we don’t want to focus on that all the effin’ time. Most of us do not want to focus on what we can’t do and the pain that comes from getting out of bed or walking or transferring, etc.. We don’t want to talk about dealing with all the misunderstandings and abelism running a-muck. All we want to do is live.
Most of us want to be motivating. Not inspirational like some divine being. We want to be a force that propels people to do and to be. It has taken me awhile to just be OK with me. For a long while, I thought that I had to be seen as inspirational in order to get ahead in life. Because how would society see me otherwise? Now I know that I don’t want to be someone’s inspiration. I want to be someone’s motivational push. I want to show that lives are valid and our dreams are valid. There will be times when we fall. There will be times when we turn back and walk (or roll, or stroll or strut) a new path. But we keep propelling forward. We need to start building each other up instead of trying to shine brighter. Perhaps that’s why social media can be so…dangerous. We want to be seen as more through likes and comments. But why can’t we be seen for what we do for others? What we do to make our selves feel alive and well? To be divine and sacred only belongs to a higher power – whether you believe in one or not. We are better when we are together. The moment we stray. The moment we divide ourselves, we begin to fault. Do I believe that we need to be individuals? Of course. Do we still need to shine light on race, sexual orientation/gender, disability politics? Of course. We need to shed the light on what has and is still dividing us. But in the end, we need to make such changes in order to reunite. Because we are better. We are better together.
teachabilities 