Reflection 2 – How did the Shift from Walking to a Wheelchair Alter my Perspective on Things?

The year 2008 marked the first year in human history, in which those living in urban areas exceeded those living in rural ones. For most of us living in urban areas we are very used to the images of buildings and concrete wherever we go. We are very disconnected from nature given the fast pace we are accustomed to as well as the almost total lack of real options to engage with nature in a fruitful and peaceful manner. This is amplified by the fact that we are mostly whether driving or walking very used to looking either in front of us or downwards and rarely do we spare the time and look upwards towards the sky.

June 2019. I am now living in Irvine (again) after participating in an ALS clinical trial taking place at the ALS and Neuromuscular center at UCI. Living in this beautiful city, I was fortunate enough to enjoy the nice hiking trails and the beautiful scenery all around. However, it wasn‘t until I began using a wheelchair and my electrical scooter that things really changed and I began to appreciate nature even more. I began to realize things I would normally not and the creation of Allah seemed more attracting and beautiful even more.

The fact is that I was much more attentive to my surroundings during that difficult time of my disease when I began loosing many of my faculties and most importantly walking. I was alerted to this fact by a dear friend, who also received his PhD from UCI. He told me that one someone loose some of their senses or abilities, their other senses begin to intensify. Haven‘t you seen how good can blind people hear? An interesting sidenote here: mostly when Allah talks about the night in Quran, there is usually some reference to hearing in the same ayah. In any case, his explanation resonated a lot with what I was feeling. Yes, some of my abilities were taken but my love and appreciation to Allah’s creation was greatly magnified.