This is a very off-the-cuff blog entry. I’m literally typing it as I think about it. So if it’s haphazard and doesn’t make sense, that’s why lol
David and I are sitting here watching The Voice, one of our favorite shows of all times. (As a footnote, I’m sooooo glad that Pharrell stayed and that my girl Christina is back.)
We listened to a young girl earlier who has two deaf parents and is partially deaf herself. She can’t hear mid-range sounds. She said that when she listens to music, she really can’t hear the singers, but has no trouble hearing the music. This isn’t going to be an analysis of her performance, although I must say that it was simply precious and I loved it so much…and am so glad that she turned two chairs and chose Christina as her coach.
After she picked her coach of choice, they showed the shot of her parents backstage and, as true to form for deaf people, they were “applauding” her by shaking their hands in the air. That’s the sign for applause. I learned that years ago and it was reinforced when I got to visit a deaf school in Mexico a couple of years ago. The kids were simply amazing and taught us “hearing folk” several signs. When they worship, at the end of the songs, they would shake their hands in the air. It’s mesmerizing to see this happen…the kids “applauding” but there’s almost total silence.
When we saw the parents applauding for their daughter on The Voice, and then passionately expressing their love and support and and excitement afterwards, when she came backstage, David and I both began to cry. And I told him, “I think sometimes, we are the disadvantaged ones.”
Sometimes I feel like those of us who are “normal”, who have all our senses and abilities and strengths are missing out…that we are the disadvantaged/disabled ones. These deaf parents, along with many other deaf people I have known in my life, have to depend double on their other senses…they have to develop those senses to a keener degree than the rest of us do. The same with those who are blind…their hearing ability increases. Their touch is heightened. You get the picture.
We “normals” tend to take our senses for granted. We don’t appreciate the abilities we have. We take for granted that we can see the sunsets, hear the finest nuances of classical music, see our kids playing in the snow, watch and hear The Voice, shovel snow, drive to work, walk without a cane or a wheelchair, swallow a sip of water, talk on the phone. Name it…there are those somewhere who can’t do it.
I believe that we are disadvantaged by having all our senses. I feel like there’s a assumption that we don’t have to try too hard or excel at anything in particular because we can do anything we want…averagely. We don’t appreciate our abilities.
I find, in most “disadvantaged” people, that there is an increased passion in the abilities that they DO have. And excellence in developing the abilities that they HAVEN’T lost. And I think it would do us all good to thank God for what we have, and use them to the very best of the abilities He has given us.
That’s all I have to say about that 🙂
the girl ramsey 