Hi! I am still teaching DBT. I am, in fact, coming towards the end of a 24 week marathon of teaching. My “senior” colleague and I decided to switch the modules we teach so the new trainers we have could be exposed to all four modules. Thus, I am not all that familiar with interpersonal effectiveness. That is my current focus.
Today I am teaching myths, cultural myths, national myths, family myths, personal myths. A myth is a story or legend that holds us together and tells us what “people like us” should do and believe. The problem with myths is they may not reflect the current reality. They may not reflect our wishes and desires.
I was looking for something to add to my lesson today and found “Good Families Don’t…” a children’s book by Robert Munsch. You can listen to it at Robertmunsch.com. Dang cute, Quickly here, a little girl finds a fart on her bed and is told good families – and Canadians- don’t have farts. Therefore it must not be so.
I just looked and I realized I have tackled myths about vision loss several times before in these pages, but I would like to do it one more time from a possibly different angle. Do “good people” have vision loss?
My guess would be resoundingly in the affirmative to that question. Good people do have vision loss. Good people do have all sorts of issues they did not cause. Vision loss is not a moral failing. As a disease with genetic roots, age-related macular degeneration is not a personal punishment. It is simply the luck of the draw, a perfect storm, call it what you will. Vision loss is not something we should be ashamed of.
Just like farts, good people do have vision loss. It is sort of silly to deny the obvious.
The problem with myths about who we “should” be is they often, as stated, fly in the face of reality. Another problem is this: operating under the influence of myths does not always serve us. Does believing all the “common knowledge” about vision loss really serve you? Is it helping you reach your goals? Are you reaching superficial, short-term goals but failing to reach more important, long-term goal because you believe these myths? Is believing what you do about vision loss causing you unnecessary stress?
Myths can stand in our way. The conclusions we come to based on those myths can also stand in our way. Do you believe people will think less of you? Do you believe others will somehow see your vision loss as a moral failing? Do you think you have somehow failed? Do you believe you are incapable because the myths tell you “blind people don’t…” do those things?
Challenging myths is an important thing to do. Where is the evidence you are somehow unable or unworthy? I suspect you won’t find it. Good people really do have vision loss…just like little girls from good, Canadian families have farts.
Written November 28th, 2019