Open Space with people with disabilities

[Joelle Lyons Everett]

Chris--

You asked for stories--

I'm remembering a workshop I took with Jean Houston.  We did lots of weird
exercises, and there were a few private-school headmasters who just stood on
the sidelines.  But a woman in a wheelchair was down on the floor doing floor
exercises, and just asked for a hand getting back into her wheelchair.

In a workshop I was leading, one woman introduced herself by dancing in her
wheel chair.  Late in the afternoon I realized that she would need to get out
of her wheelchair for a drawing exercise, and I did not know if she could.
In a quick consultation, we figured out how she could do the exercise, and as
soon as I gave the instructions to the group, someone asked to be her
partner.  She went home with a lifesized drawing of herself--standing, which
she had not physically been able to do for a number of years--she was
thrilled.

Not to worry.  In my experience, the mental and emotional constraints we
carry around can be as daunting as physical disabilities.

Joelle

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