‘I believe I am not my body’
Friday, August 17th, 2007
Writing in National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” series, Lisa Sandin documents her experiences as a person growing up with an “alternately formed body.”
I was taught to respect my body, but to remember that it was only a vehicle that carried the important things: my brain and soul.
… In my alternately formed body, I have learned lessons about patience, determination, frustration and success. This body can’t play the piano or climb rock walls, but it taught all the neighborhood kids to eat with their feet, a skill it learned in the children’s hospital. Eventually it learned to tie shoes, crossed a stage to pick up a college diploma, backpacked through Europe and changed my baby’s diapers.
Some people think I am my body and treat me with prejudice or pity. Some are just curious. It took years, but I have learned to ignore the stares and just smile back. My body has taught me to respect my fellow humans — even the thin, able-bodied, beautiful ones.
I am my words, my ideas and my actions. I am filled with love, humor, ambition and intelligence. This I believe: I am your fellow human being and, like you, I am so much more than a body.
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