Our culture puts immense value on individual independence and work. And, I think this is more than just a significant vestige of the puritan work ethic.
One of the first questions I was asked when being introduced for the first time (before I started wearing a "uniform" which made the answer fairly obvious), more often than not, was "So, what do you do?"
For many of us, our vocation is not just "what we do," but very much wrapped up in our very identity, a huge portion of "who we are."
It's not just a matter of ego, although seeing the fruit of our labors is certainly important to a sense of self-esteem. There's the not inconsequential matter of contributing to the communities of which we are a part, and of finding meaning in our lives.
I was not surprised, then, when I began my now fairly long (though recently interrupted) career in inner-city mission work, mostly with people living in poverty, that a near universal goal was finding work sufficient to become not only fully self supporting, but beyond that, to make a difference in the lives of others.
For those of us with disabilities, there are even more obstacles to reaching such a goal, and many pitfalls. Now that I've "sat on both sides of the desk," I've come to appreciate even more the importance of meaningful work in our lives. And, yes, I've returned to my career, with both excitement at the many possibilities, and some trepidation with respect to the risks.
KosAbility is a community diary series posted at 5 PM ET every Sunday and Wednesday by volunteer diarists. This is a gathering place for people who are living with disabilities, who love someone with a disability, or who want to know more about the issues surrounding this topic. There are two parts to each diary. First, a volunteer diarist will offer their specific knowledge and insight about a topic they know intimately. Then, readers are invited to comment on what they've read and/or ask general questions about disabilities, share something they've learned, tell bad jokes, post photos, or rage about the unfairness of their situation. Our only rule is to be kind; trolls will be spayed or neutered.