disable

interesting term.
a person can be disabled, or you can disable a bomb or an electric circuit.
disable- to weaken or destroy the normal physical or mental abilities of; incapacitate.
when i was younger the neighborhood bully would disable me by throwing me on the ground and sitting on my chest. now that i am an adult (and he is in jail), i sometimes disable myself when i imbibe too much alcohol. i am disabled when i am sick or emotionally drained and unable to function at my optimum. all of us are disabled at one time or another to a greater or lesser extent, acutely or chronically (see bush, george w).
i have no great words regarding people who are more permanently effected by the vagaries or brutalities of life. my friend who has just had a stroke is now beginning to sense how disabled she is. previously too confused to process what was happening to her she was almost comedic in her conversation. now that some of her circuitry has been taken over by other sections of her brain, she is beginning to understand what has transpired and what she has lost. she is tearful and scared and disabled. as my cousin (previously disabled from crack and crack hos and having lost almost everything except a very few understanding kith and kin- but thats another blog- and is now climbing his way back out of the primordial sludge) says 'life is arbitrary, brutal, and short' sounds pessimistic and upon first glance it may appear so but i look at his statement as realistic and therefore all the more justification for living as thoroughly as i can. i am learning everyday how much i have.