The privilege of never knowing the ache of disability

When I see photos of people with different disabilities, invisible disabilities, para olympians, role models of people who have made it with a complex health or neurological condition, accidental disabilities or impairments, etc etc the list could go on… but those images of people who inspire me now, make me cry with a long lost naivety that once upon a time I had no idea what it felt like to be in this world. To feel the isolation and exclusion and the significant moments of inclusion, moments which were lost on me before I wasnt exposed to this world. The ability to live your life with little to none physical or mental impairment is a privilege. To be able to protect yourself, feed yourself, care for yourself. this is a privilege. this is a basic human right. now when i see images of people in the media including the world I had never seen before. it makes me cry. i nearly lived my life so worried about my mortgage, my children’s perfect marks in school, my next holiday being cancelled, my dinner not being on time, my boss being mean to me, the things in life which really are a privilege when you think about it. but you wont, unless you live it and are near it and feel it. the ache of the real life actual world of disability. i thank my child for making me realise what a naive ignorant person I was. i had no idea. it wasnt my fault, i didnt intentionally not know. but its true. thats why we need more light in our dark world. more voices, more stories.