Heather Lanier: "Good" and "bad" are incomplete stories we tell ourselves
Heather Lanier: "جيد" و "سيء" ، قصص غير مكتملة نخبر أنفسنا بها
Heather Lanier illuminates truths about the human condition that speak to both the head and the heart. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
about a farmer who lost his horse.
"Oh, that's too bad."
"Good or bad, hard to say."
"جيد أم سيء؟ ، من الصعب القول".
and brings with it seven wild horses.
ومعه سبعة أحصنة برية.
"Oh, that's so good!"
" هذا أمر جيد جداً "
and says, "Good or bad, hard to say."
" جيد أم سيء؟ ، من الصعب القول".
rides one of the wild horses,
أحد الأحصنة البرية.
"Oh, that's terrible luck."
"Good or bad, hard to say."
من الصعب القول ".
knocking on people's doors,
ضباط التجنيد يقرعون الأبواب ،
and they pass him by.
لذلك تركوه وشأنه.
"Ooh, that's great luck!"
"Good or bad, hard to say."
من الصعب القول".
looking on the bright side
مجرد النظر إلى الجانب المشرق
to label a situation,
incomplete stories that we tell ourselves.
غير مكتملة نخبر أنفسنا بها
to the story of good or bad,
to truly see a situation.
and loosen my grip
with curiosity and wonder.
wholeheartedly what was good.
was some version of a superbaby,
هو أن أنجب طفلة خارقة
who possessed not a single flaw
flying into her superhero future.
كأنها بطل خارق.
had a super-high-functioning,
ستكون لديها قدرات خارقة
would help me make not just a good baby,
لن تجعلنى أنجب طفلة جيدة فقط،
she weighed 4 pounds, 12 ounces,
أربعة أرطال و اثنتي عشرة أوقية
two possible explanations
to lose the thread of his logic:
لا أتفهم وجهة نظره
had an ultra-rare chromosomal condition
لديها اعتلال جيني نادر جداً
of her fourth chromosome.
with her syndrome
delays and disabilities.
of the farmer.
unequivocally bad to me.
I felt gripped by despair,
كنت محاصرة باليأس ،
that all of this was tragic.
فكل ما حدث كان تراجيدياً محزناً
is much more fluid,
أكثر مرونة،
this mysterious person who was my kid,
والتي هي طفلتي،
would bounce her tiny body up and down
يهز جسمها الصغير لأعلى وأسفل
the most stunning Lake Tahoe blue,
بحيرة ( تاهو ) الجميلة الزرقاء.
into other people's eyes.
باهتمام في عيون الآخرين.
hold her head up like other babies,
لم تستطع أن تنصب رأسها لأعلى كباقي الأطفال
intent eye contact.
تتواصل بعينها بعمق واهتمام
aware baby I've ever seen."
طفل منتبه رأيته في حياتي "
of her calm, attentive presence,
هدوءها وحضورها المتيقظ
over to our house to work with Fiona
تعالج ( فيونا).
to wake her neurology up.
إلى تنشيط جهازها العصبي.
my daughter's body,
عدد قليل من الإخصائين العلاجين
visit our house that first year,
they thought was bad about my kid.
أنه سيء في طفلتي.
Fiona started using her right hand
عندما استخدمت ( فيونا ) يدها اليمنى
on my child's left hand.
not to use this hand very often,
إلى عدم إستخدام هذه اليد في معظم الأحيان.
the fingers on that hand.
we should devise a splint,
to actually use those fingers,
على استعمال تلك الأصابع.
into some position that looked normal.
أن يكونوا في وضع يشبه الوضع الطبيعي.
to realize a few things.
my kid had some bad therapists.
تخبرني أن طفلتي لديها أخصائية ( سيئة)
a red pill or a blue pill,
يبتلع قرص أحمر أو قرص أزرق -
my daughter's differences as bad;
أن أرى اختلافات طفلتي على أنها شيء سيئ
that her therapists called,
الذي كانت تقول عنه الإخصائية:
when they could say about a kid,
استطاعوا أن يقولوا عن طفلة:
or 'autistic' or 'different.'"
'مصاب بالتوحد' أو ' مختلف عن الآخرين'
was the path that erased
الطريقة الجيدة هي تلك التي تمحو
a disastrous pursuit,
يكون هذا السعي مدمر،
my daughter had rare blueprints.
كان لطفلتي مخطط عمل نادر
to be like other people.
I could drop my story
بإمكاني أن أتخلى عن فكرتي
and developmental delays and disabilities
وتأخر النمو والإعاقات
that a more able-bodied life was better.
بأن الحياة بجسد معافى ستكون حياة أفضل.
about what made a life good or bad
عما يجعل الحياة " جيدة " أو " سيئة "
my daughter's life as it unfolded
وهي تتكشف أمامي ببساطة
out of the side of her mouth
her body onto her belly.
and rolled back onto her back,
to do it all over again,
under a coffee table.
تحت الطاولة.
she'd gotten stuck there,
that her eye had been on all along:
إلى شيء كانت تنظر إليه:
pulling up to stand and toddling around,
يستطيعون الوقوف والمشي.
limber freedom of mobility.
الجديدة لحركة أطرافها.
was a baby yanking on an electric cord,
كان طفلة تنتزع سلك كهربائي
that when I released my grip
and see what it was.
أمامي وأرى ما تبدو عليه.
of the human experience.
عن الخبرات البشرية.
to a new state in America,
ولاية جديدة فى أمريكا،
batch of therapists.
all that was wrong with my kid.
as problems to fix.
as normal as possible;
تبدوا طبيعية قدر المستطاع
be as independent as possible
أن تعتمد على نفسها قدر المستطاع
however that looked for her.
أياً ما كانت ستبدوا تلك القدرات لها.
this open attitude about disabilities.
تتخذ هذا الموقف المتفتح عن المعاقين.
"birth defects,"
" عيوب خلقية "
were objects on a factory line.
had a baby with Down syndrome.
مصاب بمتلازمة داون.
about a suicidal wheelchair user,
انتحار شخص مقعد على كرسي متحرك
wheelchair users tell us
المُقعد على الكرسي المتحرك
decide what lives are not worth living.
أي الأرواح لا تستحق الحياة.
children's hospital
مستشفيات الأطفال في أمريكا
to a lifesaving kidney transplant
كانت ستنقذ حياتها.
of disabilities as bad manifests
insidious counterstory --
with intellectual disabilities are good
المصابين بإعاقات عقلية هم أشخاص طيبون.
to teach us something magical,
and always sweet.
who's one of God's special children,
هو أحد أطفال الله المميزين
and the communication device
أو جهاز تواصل
in my daughter's life
in angel's wings and a halo
don't experience the sticky complexities
لم يعانوا تلك التعقيدات الشائكة
especially as a baby,
that any other kid does,
كما يفعل باقي الأطفال
shoved her two-year-old sister.
دفعت اختها التي تبلغ من العمر عامان
to annoy the hell out of you,
and complexity that that title brings,
التي يجلبها هذا التصنيف
mozzarella cheese sticks
can consume in one day --
كل يوم --
my culture's beliefs
لأستفسر من معتقداتي
and iPad app to communicate,
من أجل التواصل
I handed Fiona her iPad,
جهاز (الآيباد) الخاص بها،
or little square on her iPad app.
على جهاز (الآيباد) الخاص بها
that my expectations were way too high,
توقعاتي بعيدة كل البعد
to hit those tiny targets.
من تلك المهام الصغيرة.
as she gradually learned
بينما هي تتعلم ببطئ
words she loved,
الكلمات التي أحبتها
that her mouth couldn't yet say.
والتي لم تستطع أن تنطقها بعد.
less-fun words, prepositions --
نعلمها كلمات أقل مرحاً كحروف الجر
at a dining room table
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Heather Lanier - Essayist, poetHeather Lanier illuminates truths about the human condition that speak to both the head and the heart.
Why you should listen
As an essayist and a poet, Heather Lanier's work spans a range of subjects, from parenting and disability to pop culture and religion. She is the author of two award-winning poetry chapbooks, The Story You Tell Yourself and Heart-Shaped Bed in Hiroshima, along with the nonfiction book, Teaching in the Terrordome: Two Years in West Baltimore with Teach For America, which MacArthur Genius Deborah Meier called "a heart-wrenching … much-needed account." She has received an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award and a Vermont Creation Grant.
In her viral Vela Magazine essay, "SuperBabies Don't Cry," Lanier chronicles her daughter's diagnosis of a rare chromosomal syndrome and explores the ways pregnant women are pressured to create perfect humans. As a mother and a disability advocate, she shines a light on ableist attitudes, encourages readers to see disability as an aspect of diversity, and marvels at the strange beauty of being human. Her book about raising her daughter is forthcoming from Penguin Press and Piatkus / Little, Brown UK. She writes a related blog here, and teaches writing at Southern Vermont College.
Heather Lanier | Speaker | TED.com