Hey Folks, Welcome to my Blog/Vlog called axs.world… It’s been a long, harrowing road and interesting journey to get to this point, but I’m proud to say we’re finally here. The blog is an active response to my Never Give Up Tour and my experiences along the way.The tour title is an indication into the drive and dedication it took to make it the success that it’s been.
It’s been just over 15 years since my SCI and thus that many years since I’ve been in the wheelchair.
Much like the disenchantment I feel thinking back to my Star Trek expectations of the future, disability health care, scientific advancement, and the overall social narrative, even awareness on living with a disability and accessibility hasn’t shaped out quite like I thought it would have. Instead we got quite a bit work to do folks!
Rapper JayZ on his latest album 4:44 sampled a snippet of one of my favorite songs for the intro to his track titled “Smile”. Love's In Need Of Love Today… If you think about it, its one of the saddest things in the world.. Love… being in need of love… Dammn!… but in a sense it's also a call to action. In fact, Stevie even says Love’s in need of love today… send yours in right away!
In my times of reflection concerning my injury; of course thinking back on the different ways the event leading to could have gone… I’ve asked why me… why this.. all the why’s… not in the self-pity way, although on days I admit I’ve been there, but in the why that makes you also ask what and how. Though I’ve learned so much and wouldn’t be the person I am today I still can’t say I’m grateful for the experience of being in a wheelchair… It’s shitty. However, despite how shitty it gets I’m grateful for life and I’m grateful for the mind that I have.
I feel in many ways that with the mind I have and the experience of living in a wheelchair… my ability to articulate what I feel about what I’m experiencing, is somewhat of a call to action for me to share what I’m experiencing with the world, to start a dialogue… to raise awareness and hopefully make this experience a lot (not a little) less shitty for all of us.
Listen to "Love's In Need of Love Today" by Stevie Wonder