We All Have Reasons for Moving

The title of this blog was named after my favorite poem by Mark Strand: Keeping Things Whole. For me, it communicates the very fabric of my heart.

Keeping Things Whole

Mark Strand

In a field

I am the absence

of field.

This is

always the case.

Wherever I am

I am what is missing.

When I walk

I part the air

and always

the air moves in

to fill the spaces

where my body's been.

We all have reasons

for moving.

I move

to keep things whole.

When thinking about the millions of people with intellectual disabilities who are marginalized around the world on a daily basis, I am filled with a sense of duty and devotion to impact their lives. With my background in occupational therapy and my personal experience with my brother, I see myself as a source of fuel for the fire of change. But I say this from a place in my heart that resonates with Strand's message of unrest and dissatisfaction. I have a reason for moving from place to place, from country to country, in order to help people. Just like Strand, my reason is to keep things whole. My work will never be done...not until people with intellectual disabilities, no matter how profound, are enjoying their lives to the fullest extent in the smallest and darkest corners of the world.

I must move to keep things whole.