The Aftermath: Joyful Living in a Messy World

If you don’t feel like watching, here’s the very short version of what I say…

Last Thursday’s post opened up very candid conversation about so many different topics: children with disabilities and special needs, the value of a human life, pregnancy, infertility, abortion, adoption, genetic testing, ablelism… Talk about a can of worms! So many strong feelings, but in the midst of the madness there is a lot to be learned about our own choices, language, and the way we treat others online.

I do not believe that by publishing this post Stratejoy is giving implicit “approval” of ANYTHING, except the freedom for each of us to make our own decisions and hard calls. That said, there was absolutely a level of editing that should have been done at my level to make sure the language and tone was not hurtful or discriminatory. I failed to do that and for that, I apologize to you all. Truly.

I can tell you honestly as someone who would never imagine others would accuse her of being anything but loving, accepting, and supportive, I really had to examine my own role in this.  I learned a whole hell of a lot from both this experience and many of the thoughtful comments.

Stratejoy is a community that respects different opinions and is a tool for each one of us to discover OUR OWN TRUTHS.  It’s a platform for my bloggers and clients to make their own decisions based on their own situation, level of knowledge and opinion. That is the kind of joyful living I’m in support of — YOUR own personal version. I’m a facilitator, coach, and teacher; not someone casting judgement.

So what good came of this post? I know that many conversations were had offline between partners, mothers, and friends about ablelism, the choices they would make in a pregnancy, and the power of our words to hurt. They were brought to light because of the intensity of the online response– we were all forced to sort out our opinions.

Thank you for those of you who shared your growth, respectful disagreement, knowledge and experience, and very personal stories and choices with me.

YOU are acknowledged, loved and respected.

XOXO

Molly