Blogs that make me think, one

I’ve been thinking about the thinking meme (no pun intended) ever since I got tagged, and wondering who I’d list. Actually, I first saw this meme on Yang-May Ooi’s blog, and it got me thinking then, too. Which five blogs would I say “make me think”?

I think I’ll actually cheat a little and vary the meme a bit, and instead of posting about five blogs in one hit, I might just post as I think of them.

The first blog in my list is The Useless Tree. Written by Dr Sam Crane, the blog is subtitled “Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life”. I enjoy Dr Crane’s writings on Chinese, particularly Taoist, philosophy, but his posts about his disabled son, Aidan, were what really made me think. Like this post:

“But Aidan is worth it. His value comes precisely from the challenge he poses to the usual definitions of ”value.” He is a living reminder that the range of human experience is broader than the narrow confines of balance sheets and business plans. While he will never pay back society in financial terms, he certainly gives to those around him.

“To my wife and me he has given the gift of perspective. A good day now is not a matter of more income or greater social status or new things from the mall, but a time of fewer seizures or his comfortable sleep in his own bed. He has expanded the world of his little sister, Margaret. Though only 4, she is not afraid of wheelchairs or white canes; she knows that not everyone walks or talks or sees.

“He has a similar impact on his friends at school — yes, he is entitled by law to be included in the local public school. His classmates were put off at first by the wheelchair, the seizures, the strangeness. But after a simple explanation — ”he was just born that way” — they come to accept him, even compete to push his chair or hold his hand. Some have forged real friendships with him, asking to trick-or-treat with him at Halloween or inviting him to a birthday party.

“His most profound effect, however, is the reflection he inspires in many who meet him. Without a word, he poses the deepest questions. What is a life? What makes any life, even one so limited, worth it? Strangers have come up on crowded streets, touching his shoulder or tousling his hair, giving us their abbreviated answers. Usually they say something about love or grace, something well beyond the material concerns of everyday life. With Aidan, it’s never about productivity, it is about humanity.”

I was very sad when I learned that Aidan passed away, aged 14. The eulogy his Dad gave for him brought a tear to my eye.