With permission, I'm sharing and linking to a wonderful post by fine art painter, Buddhist meditation teacher and friend Lisa Ernst of Nashville. I'm enjoying sharing other bloggers' perspectives on disAbility this summer (here's one, if you missed it,) and, I hope you are enjoying reading them. Lisa's connection to disAbility, in this instance, is as an observer. Her story here is yet another example of (here's one from last week featuring another artist who's also a mother of a son with a disAbility,) finding the beauty and the lessons from those we sometimes, culturally, brand with labels and false stereotypes of inferiority. As Lisa writes below, a young man, who happens to use a wheelchair and may have an intellectual disAbility, gave her, a Dharma teacher, the gift of a in-the-moment wisdom about making peace with circumstances.
Writes Lisa:
"On a cool, sunny June afternoon I started one of my
frequent hikes at Radnor Lake. There’s a steep paved road just past the
parking lot that leads to the lake. In one area, damaged by a major
flood, the road is all gravel and a bit bumpy to traverse. As I
approached the graveled area, I saw a young man in a wheelchair suddenly
grab his wheels and try to turn back toward the parking lot. He
protested loudly about riding over the gravel and appeared quite
frightened. One of his companions calmly encouraged him not to be
afraid, reminding him that the lake was just past the gravel so he
needed to go through it to enjoy the scenery. This seemed to calm him
down a bit and he let go of his efforts to escape the gravel. At that
point he had already ridden halfway through anyway, so either going or
returning meant equal contact with the gravel.
"As I walked past, he appeared more relaxed as one
of his companions moved him forward in the chair. Suddenly he opened
his mouth and allowed the sound of his voice to reflect the bumpiness of
the gravel. It was as if his whole body had become one with the gravel,
completely connected with the experience of going over the rocks. I
realized he was giving a wonderful dharma talk – directly reflecting how
he had let go of aversion and was allowing himself to experience the
moment fully. There was no fear in his voice, just a manifestation of
the moment’s bumpiness."
Read the rest of Lisa's post here.
More about Lisa: When I was associate editor of NashvilleArts Magazine, back during it's first two years in 2006-2008, friend, artist and autism pediatrician Susan McGrew directed my attention to Lisa's lovely larger-than-life still life paintings which have a very zen-like effect on the viewer and have been purchased by numerous medical centers who recognize the scientifically validated healing power of art. I've featured Lisa's paintings several times here on "The Journey with Grace." In recent years, the artist has branched out into photography and teaches mindful photography workshops, as well. The above photograph is by her. Stunning, eh? I find that often her photographs mimic her paintings so closely that I find it a little tricky to discern the medium–painting or photography.
Lisa is also the founder of One Dharma Nashville. She offers meditation
training, residential and daylong retreats, and, in additon to the aforementioned workshops on mindful photography, she also teaches writing. To
see Lisa’s 2013 retreat and workshops schedule, click on this link.
Lastly, Lisa, who can be located in the blogosphere at The Lotus Blooms in the Mud, has recently been featured twice on Huffington Post Live talking about the power of mindfulness. Most recently she was interviewed on the subject from the perspective of an artist.
