D For Diffabled

Diffabled? Is that even an English word?  

Well my dear reader, I thought I was making up this word and got shocked when the dictionary in my MacBook “Okayed” it by not putting a red line under it to signify "wrong word". That made me go online to look for its meaning and got pleasantly surprised when I found it just like I had in mind.

According to the Urban Dictionary, diffabled is a term used to describe someone with a disability but who is considered differently abled. In other words, though they have limits in some of their limbs, they have found a different way of accomplishing the same tasks without depending on those limbs that are limiting them. In other words, instead of being disabled, they are referred to as diff-abled i.e. differently abled.

Speaking of disabled, what does the word mean?

I went back to my online dictionary and found many definitions, but the one closest to what I was looking for is this one: to put something out of action, or to prevent someone from doing something.

I can relate with the first part of the definition that says "put something out of action". Many times this software I am using to type this article disables some functions when I use the SmartArt tools. I have never understood why it does that but I have found another way of working around that “disability” to accomplish my goals. I can comfortably say that the workaround I use enables me to use the SmartArt tools differently.

I know you are wondering where I am going with this but just hang in there for a few minutes and you will see. Let me bring this diffabled theory home.

During this COVID-19 season, many things have become “disabled” if we are to go by the definition I have shared above. Airlines have been put out of action and might be for a while, we have been prevented from shaking hands, hugging or even touching, and in some parts of the world people are not allowed to leave their houses, etc.

Honestly speaking, it feels like life as we knew it has become literally disabled. 

The good thing is that this has activated many innovative workarounds to this challenge. For instance, for now until this pandemic is over, we may not be able to crisscross offices for meetings and conferences like we used to before, but we can still attend the same meetings and accomplish the same goals using different platforms such as Zoom, ClickMeeting, AnyMeeting, Skype, etc, to name a few.  In view of this, we can say we have now become diffabled i.e. differently abled to achieve the same goals. Just as a by the way, I won't be surprised if this continues even after the pandemic is over.

Like I said in my second article in these series, those who will “live” through this pandemic are those who will Be Prepared to handle its effects now and after it is gone. Don’t bury your head in the sand; recognize the fact that things might never be the same again. There will be a new normal in days to come, just like there is a new normal now, which is wearing a mask as part of our wardrobe, and sanitizing our hands almost every 7 minutes. 

The good thing is that every one of us is diffabled to deal with the situation at hand. And how do I know this? I know this because I have evidence that each one of us has gifts and talents sitting inside of us. Proverbs 18:16 carries a powerful statement that reveals this evidence: "A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men."​ In other words, you have a gift that if you develop, it will create opportunities for you and open doors to high places that you probably never went through before COVID-19 ever happened. For instance, what do you think will happen to the first person who comes up with a vaccine for this disease? What if that person is you but you don't know it yet?

Oh, and by the way, gifts have a tendency of bringing their whole families with them. By that I mean that when you discover one gift, it leads you to a few others associated to that first one that you might never have realized you have if you hadn't developed the first one. 

The challenge is that not many people ever get a chance to identify what gifts or talents they have. I can guarantee you that if you took the time to look inwards, you will find the “escape route” God prepared for you for times just like this. Like Erica Jong said, “Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.” 

During this period when some of life's features have been "disabled" I encourage you to determine to find out how God has diffabled you to survive during and after this pandemic. Find out what your gifts and talents are and start developing them while the world is on a forced break so that when the bell rings for symbolizing the break is over, you will have added a few tools to your survival kit.  

If you need help in finding out what your gifts/talents are, please let me know and I will give you a few tips you can use.

Remember, though the world may be temporarily disabled, you have been diffabled to continue living a full and satisfying life like you did before (if not better), but only that this time you will do it differently. 

You can listen to my podcast on D for Diff-abled here. 

Be Ignited. Be Inspired. Be Influenced. Find out how you have been diffabled and you will definitely become the best version of yourself you can ever be as you do.