Misericordia 2

This morning I worked in the bakery of Misericordia. While in the bakery, I got to pour the batter for ~330 cupcakes (who knew this could take 2 hours!!) and while I was pouring this batter, I got to thinking about the importance of these cupcakes. Usually I would just think "Mmm, these smell good and I'm glad I'm making them." But in the context of Misericordia, I tried to see the cupcakes through the eyes of the residents here. I remember Theresa talking about how these work opportunities give the residents "a reason to get up in the morning," and about how they give the residents' lives a meaning. When I thought about these cupcakes from that perspective, I was actually able to see that these tasks can be incredibly meaningful. Yes, I was just pouring some batter. But this batter was cooked into delicious cupcakes that were then packaged by Misericordia residents and then sold, with profits going towards funding the daily ins and outs of campus life for these people. This feeling of productivity is important for everyone because it gives people a sense of confidence in themselves. It’s also meaningful for the residents to be able to do these things because it allows them to work alongside others to make something that society wants. To them it doesn't matter how menial the task is because they're just happy to have the work.

In the afternoon I was volunteering in the canvas painting room where I listened to a short lecture about artists with disabilities, then painted a little bit with some of the residents, and heard a continuing education lecture about meditation. While it was interesting to learn about famous artists with disabilities, I think the most memorable portion of this afternoon was the lecture about meditation. While the campus is an all faith community, the majority of residents are Christian. So in the lecture about meditation, the art therapist discussed certain topics from the perspective of a Christian with disabilities. The first idea that he asked us to think about is the fact that Christian society used to think that God was punishing the parents of children with disabilities by giving them such a hardship. From my perspective, I honestly hadn't thought about how the disabled person would view that statement. To me, having a disability could be a punishment because it is such a hardship. But to hear that as someone who has a disability, you would interpret that statement to mean that you in and of yourself are a punishment. Believing that you are a punishment is so self-destructive that I don’t think anyone should have to live thinking that, including the disabled population. Another idea that he asked us to think about is the famous prayer: "Grant me the serenity to let go of the things that I can’t change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." It was interesting to hear this in the context of Misericordia because it gave me a common ground with this population. We all have our hardships, and we all need to learn how to deal with them. Because this prayer is deeply rooted to how I choose to live my life, it was interesting to hear it at Misericordia because it gave me a point of similarity with the resident here. This common ground is important because it helps open the door to communication between the disabled and non-disabled populations. Being able to communicate and listen to one another is the only way progress can be made towards fully integrating the two populations.