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.
