My husband and I have been listening to a lot of talks by Temple Grandin recently. Dr. Grandin is a prominent speaker and author on both autism and animal behaviour. She is a professor and a consultant. Her work shares the need for persons with different minds and she speaks about persons on the autism spectrum.

In listening to her talks and other talks on the autism spectrum, we build our understanding. I think that we are all on the spectrum, and that we are only now beginning to realise how we can label the ways that we think and operate.

I think of Lila, the play of the Divine. If we think of ourselves as sparks of the Divine then we can observe that each spark may have its own personality, own characteristics, own karma to work through. In our families and communities we may see how each spark embodies itself. We may observe those who are better at working with their hands, those who are better at solving problems mentally; those who build, heal, create.

What feels like a long time ago, in my early teen years, I found a book in the school library that I cannot remember the name of. Science-fiction where the protagonist lived in a domed community where when the children graduated they would be put into professions that suited their talents. That has stuck with me forever, and been reinforced by the fact that my parents are multi-skilled and multi-talented.

We need the time and space to learn who we are, what we appreciate, what we are capable of. To explore our abilities and talents and observe how we can bring them together and work together to create better communities and a better future.

peace,

Renee Arundhati