Shine a light on

Shine a light on

Voilà, the third and final illustration I created for Anna Maria Joseph’s article for Women Enabled International and Revival Disability India, and this time I added a little animation (on my Instagram reels because I'm still learning how to use technology) to help make a spark.

COP27 is underway.

We’re still a world where certain groups decide who is allowed to have a voice based on how they look and present, as well as who is allowed to self-identify as disabled.
Here’s a challenge, if the idea of self-identification feels misaligned: come from a place of compassion for yourself first, and then compassion for the other.

I say this without malice or blame, it’s not easy to accept someone else’s perception of themselves if you are not yourself comfortable with who you are, who you believe deserves help and support, who deserves credit, and who deserves to be reckoned with.

Illustration: A person wearing a coral orange top with stripes of blue inverted triangles in a mandala-esque design and jeans, blue belt and blue shoes, sits on a stool with their eyes closed, and head raised hopefully looking towards the light. They have purple hair that flows down their shoulders, with a yellow barrette on one side, pinned above their right ear. In one hand, they are holding onto a blue leash that’s tied around a dog with black and white fur, wearing an orange coat. Their other hand is holding down a pull chain that lights up a yellow spotlight above them. A bulb that is attached to an orange bulb holder is visible. The background is in dark blue with twinkling stars shown in light blue. There is imagery of sunflowers in three places in the illustration–four sunflowers growing from the ground beside the stool that they are sitting on, on the left side of the top they are wearing, and as a brown line illustration on their left arm.

I am disabled, I admit it took time (years) to adjust in order to begin to accept, but I’ve managed to come to this peace within myself because of the light of others shining bright and strong.
Being disabled is not less, and does not mean less deserving. Being disabled is not voiceless, if anything it is a powerful voice that illuminates within each of us the parts that need to be held with greater compassion.

Do you have the strength of compassion to help shine a light on Disabled Climate Activism?
Read Anna’s article to understand more about the intersection of disability and climate activism—the link here.

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