Maybe You Laughed
[this is a public post]
Maybe you know someone who is not as smart as you,
And maybe you laughed - maybe you laughed.
Maybe you know someone who can't do the things you do,
And maybe you laughed - maybe you laughed.
Well, remember, that someone came from Heaven too,
And they are a child of God, the same as you!
Next time you meet someone who's less fortunate than you,
Maybe you won't laugh, and maybe they won't cry;
Maybe if you're kind, they'll maybe wonder why.
They'll maybe feel like laughing too!
Some people can't see at all, and some people can't walk.
Some people can't hear, and some can't talk.
Some people are different-looking,
Some people are strange.
Some people hurt all the time,
because of things they can't change...
Maybe you know someone who is always left behind,
And maybe you laughed - maybe you laughed.
Maybe you've seen tears that fall when others are unkind,
And maybe you laughed - maybe you laughed.
Well, remember, that someone is loved by somebody too,
And they are a child of God, the same as you!
Next time you meet someone who is struggling to get through,
Maybe you won't laugh, and maybe they won't cry;
Maybe if you're kind, they'll maybe wonder why.
They'll maybe feel like laughing too!
-- Janeen Brady, "Maybe You Laughed"
I don't have the album this song is on, and to be honest I'm not sure I'd want to; it's a children's CD and some of the songs sound... not so good. But when I heard this one, I fell in love with it, hee. So true, too.
I've uploaded a version here (note: This is a better version than the one that was linked before :D) - thanks to exor674 for the original file, which came from an audio tape :O So that's why this one isn't really the best-ever quality... but I think it's worth it.
I'm personally of the belief that people can still learn from this song - even at our age. I'm not thinking of anybody in particular - just that the world is still like this. :(
Too often people nowadays don't know how hurtful they can be to those around them who suffer like this, even if it's not intentional. And when it is intentional... well, that's just sad.
For example, a number of very good friends of mine have fibromyalgia or ME (Chronic fatigue syndrome), both "invisible diseases" which nevertheless fundamentally affect their lives. They're "invisible" because if you were to look at them, you wouldn't obviously know that they had a problem. They don't go around with walking sticks or anything, since they don't need them - that's not their problem.
However, because of this, a lot of people don't understand how they can possibly have a problem, since they look fine on the outside. This leads to problems when, for example, they park in disabled parking spaces. Too many people have the idea that parking in a disabled parking space without some sort of visible problem isn't allowed - and worse, they sometimes "make sure" that the person knows that. While they have the best of intentions (that is, trying to keep the spaces free for people who in their opinion *are* disabled), they just don't realise that these people have just as much right to park in these spaces as those in wheelchairs do, and it just causes a lot of grief for the person affected.
Similarly, people try to be encouraging, but end up unintentionally being irritating. An example would be when the person with the disease says to someone else that they just don't have the energy to do something, and the other person is all, "Meh, you look fine to me. You can do it!" The trouble is, they can't, despite appearances, and trying to be encouraging like that is not going to change things, and probably ends up being very irritating, as yet *another* person doesn't understand them.
I could go on about invisible diseases, and similar things that aren't even diseases (like Asperger Syndrome) yet nevertheless cause similar problems for people, but unless people want to hear it, I won't; this is already looking to be a long post and I don't want to make it much longer. If people want me to talk about it though, do let me know.
Of course, those with invisible diseases aren't the only ones affected by this sort of thing. Visible physical deformities, blindness, deafness, and so on are all things that unfortunately invite (and actually can invite even *more*) ridicule and misunderstanding - and that's just not right for anybody.
Now, i'm not intending to put words in the mouths of my friends who have problems like these, especially as I don't have anything quite like them myself - so I'd like to ask people reading this to speak up in the comments about your own experiences, about whether I've got things right here, etc. There's no pressure - if you can't, or don't want to, it's fine. I like to make sure I have the right idea about things like these, however.
If you're interested in knowing more, there are a number of great sites to look at. For invisible diseases, a good resource is http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/ ; check out the Spoon Theory while you're there. (Unfortunately, it seems to now only be available in PDF format, it used to be available in HTML too. I sent an email about it; I think there should be a choice, since although PDFs *can* be more accessible than HTML for some people if the PDF is done correctly, they're inaccessible to others, especially as it's a proprietary format.)
For general disability advocacy, the Society: Issues: Disabilities category at the Open Directory Project has a lot of good sites.
I'm a strong advocate for people who are misunderstood in this way. Can you tell?
(on another note, I'm not sure about the "Heaven" in "Well, remember, that someone came from Heaven too"; it doesn't seem to have an H at the beginning, making it sound more like "Well, remember, that someone came from Devon too", but somehow I don't think that's quite right. ;p Anyone know for sure?)
[edited 2009-12-22: The link to the album was out-of-date.]
Maybe you know someone who is not as smart as you,
And maybe you laughed - maybe you laughed.
Maybe you know someone who can't do the things you do,
And maybe you laughed - maybe you laughed.
Well, remember, that someone came from Heaven too,
And they are a child of God, the same as you!
Next time you meet someone who's less fortunate than you,
Maybe you won't laugh, and maybe they won't cry;
Maybe if you're kind, they'll maybe wonder why.
They'll maybe feel like laughing too!
Some people can't see at all, and some people can't walk.
Some people can't hear, and some can't talk.
Some people are different-looking,
Some people are strange.
Some people hurt all the time,
because of things they can't change...
Maybe you know someone who is always left behind,
And maybe you laughed - maybe you laughed.
Maybe you've seen tears that fall when others are unkind,
And maybe you laughed - maybe you laughed.
Well, remember, that someone is loved by somebody too,
And they are a child of God, the same as you!
Next time you meet someone who is struggling to get through,
Maybe you won't laugh, and maybe they won't cry;
Maybe if you're kind, they'll maybe wonder why.
They'll maybe feel like laughing too!
-- Janeen Brady, "Maybe You Laughed"
I don't have the album this song is on, and to be honest I'm not sure I'd want to; it's a children's CD and some of the songs sound... not so good. But when I heard this one, I fell in love with it, hee. So true, too.
I've uploaded a version here (note: This is a better version than the one that was linked before :D) - thanks to exor674 for the original file, which came from an audio tape :O So that's why this one isn't really the best-ever quality... but I think it's worth it.
I'm personally of the belief that people can still learn from this song - even at our age. I'm not thinking of anybody in particular - just that the world is still like this. :(
Too often people nowadays don't know how hurtful they can be to those around them who suffer like this, even if it's not intentional. And when it is intentional... well, that's just sad.
For example, a number of very good friends of mine have fibromyalgia or ME (Chronic fatigue syndrome), both "invisible diseases" which nevertheless fundamentally affect their lives. They're "invisible" because if you were to look at them, you wouldn't obviously know that they had a problem. They don't go around with walking sticks or anything, since they don't need them - that's not their problem.
However, because of this, a lot of people don't understand how they can possibly have a problem, since they look fine on the outside. This leads to problems when, for example, they park in disabled parking spaces. Too many people have the idea that parking in a disabled parking space without some sort of visible problem isn't allowed - and worse, they sometimes "make sure" that the person knows that. While they have the best of intentions (that is, trying to keep the spaces free for people who in their opinion *are* disabled), they just don't realise that these people have just as much right to park in these spaces as those in wheelchairs do, and it just causes a lot of grief for the person affected.
Similarly, people try to be encouraging, but end up unintentionally being irritating. An example would be when the person with the disease says to someone else that they just don't have the energy to do something, and the other person is all, "Meh, you look fine to me. You can do it!" The trouble is, they can't, despite appearances, and trying to be encouraging like that is not going to change things, and probably ends up being very irritating, as yet *another* person doesn't understand them.
I could go on about invisible diseases, and similar things that aren't even diseases (like Asperger Syndrome) yet nevertheless cause similar problems for people, but unless people want to hear it, I won't; this is already looking to be a long post and I don't want to make it much longer. If people want me to talk about it though, do let me know.
Of course, those with invisible diseases aren't the only ones affected by this sort of thing. Visible physical deformities, blindness, deafness, and so on are all things that unfortunately invite (and actually can invite even *more*) ridicule and misunderstanding - and that's just not right for anybody.
Now, i'm not intending to put words in the mouths of my friends who have problems like these, especially as I don't have anything quite like them myself - so I'd like to ask people reading this to speak up in the comments about your own experiences, about whether I've got things right here, etc. There's no pressure - if you can't, or don't want to, it's fine. I like to make sure I have the right idea about things like these, however.
If you're interested in knowing more, there are a number of great sites to look at. For invisible diseases, a good resource is http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/ ; check out the Spoon Theory while you're there. (Unfortunately, it seems to now only be available in PDF format, it used to be available in HTML too. I sent an email about it; I think there should be a choice, since although PDFs *can* be more accessible than HTML for some people if the PDF is done correctly, they're inaccessible to others, especially as it's a proprietary format.)
For general disability advocacy, the Society: Issues: Disabilities category at the Open Directory Project has a lot of good sites.
I'm a strong advocate for people who are misunderstood in this way. Can you tell?
(on another note, I'm not sure about the "Heaven" in "Well, remember, that someone came from Heaven too"; it doesn't seem to have an H at the beginning, making it sound more like "Well, remember, that someone came from Devon too", but somehow I don't think that's quite right. ;p Anyone know for sure?)
[edited 2009-12-22: The link to the album was out-of-date.]