Whole and whole

by Ruby

The most recent film in my documentary quest – Murderball.

Great story, great characters. I love how it shows the possibility of being a whole person – and indeed, of being a flawed person – in the situation of adjusting to changes in mobility and function, overriding typical expectations about disability. The film portrays aggression just as readily as it shows vulnerability and is just as honest about the accomplishments as it is about the limitations of its protagonists.

I also couldn’t help but notice how the main storylines focused on meaningful work (in this case the sport) and love, whether romantic or familial. It’s what we all need and what the lucky among us find in this life, no matter what our particular challenges may be. By no means do I want to be taken as being flippant about the obstacles and losses that come with severe spinal injury and its sequelae. But I have known many people who are “whole” in body who are nowhere near the level of living life as the men in this film.

And I’d like to take the opportunity to share the fantastic work of an old favorite – Cliff Enright is a painter who is quadriplegic. Many of his beautiful watercolors are here:

http://cliffenright.com/wordpress/

It makes me ask myself, what am I doing with the raw materials of my life and how can I shape and integrate the broken pieces into a living, dynamic whole?