Recently I had a bicycle accident. I hit a deer. That’s probably enough for you to think you might want to skip the rest of this post, but read on.
I broke 7 ribs and dislocated a shoulder, leaving me in a sling for an indefinite period. I play the drums a bit and searched for “one armed drummer”. I found two interesting results, one for Rich Allen of Def Leppard and another called “How I set up my drum kit with 5 fingers”. The second was a link to a YouTube video from a young woman named Abby who was born with a limb difference. Her right arm stops a few inches between her elbow and her wrist, meaning she has no right hand. Her YouTube channel is full of “things you can do with 5 fingers”.
I know a few people who have suffered tragic losses in life or have been born with some differences. My observation is that they travel one of two major roads. For some the loss is so severe that they withdraw, they get depressed, they feel some amount of self-pity, or they become bitter. I hope I don’t sound judgmental or overly critical here. I’ve had it pretty easy in life and don’t know how I would respond under these circumstances.
The other path is to Play the Cards You’re Dealt. That’s what Abby seems to have done. She is one of the most upbeat can-do persons around. Her videos are well worth seeing even if you have ten fingers.
To extend this metaphor a bit, in some card games you get to replace some of the cards. Those who take the first path sometimes don’t do this or do it poorly. It’s easy for us who have been dealt good hands to be critical here and I know I have been guilty of this, so I try to remember to Walk a Mile in their Shoes.