wow. just wow.

I happened upon Lisa Ackerman's blog today (Lisa is one of the original Autism Warrior Moms who has pulled the BioMed community together with TACA).  By the way, go read that Mother Warriors book. It changed my life in ways I only recognize now in hindsight - knowing the parents who had fought this fight already gave me all kinds of strength.  I still go back and re read it periodically.  And cry.  Its a crying book.

And a few weeks ago she posted this old story, that i'd never heard. And I have no idea who to credit for it. But it completely and absolutely explains why it is we do what we do.  And how hard it is to get those around us to accept that its simply what we have to do, forbidden by mainstream or not.  

Two tribes lived side by side.  They were separated by a mountain and a valley.  The two tribes deeply believed in the spirits protecting their tribes and believed they were forbidden to cross the imaginary lines separating their tribes.  

Because of their fear of the spirits in charge, valley tribe members never went up the mountain and mountain tribe members never walked to the valley.  To violate this rule was unthinkable.

One night, a valley tribe baby escaped from the safety of his tent and crawled up the mountain.  The valley tribe members were distraught and frantic looking for the child.  They scoured the valley for the lost child but it never occurred to them to venture up the mountain in their search.  They could not cross the forbidden line.

Giving up, the valley tribe members began to commiserate the loss of the child. The baby’s mother however, walked past the wailing tribe, climbed up the mountain, and recovered her child.
On the way back to the village a tribe member asked the mother “Your baby was gone forever and you brought him back!!  How were you brave enough to go search the mountains when you know it is forbidden?  I could never do that!”

The mother simply replied “It wasn’t your baby.”