Posts By: Karl Low

Elisa Neven-Pugh

I have cerebral palsy quadriplegia. Which means that, while I can feel my arms and legs, I cannot use them. Hence the motorized wheelchair in the picture attached to this article. If you just felt sorry for me, thank you for your compassion, but my personal life is wonderful. I have a great family, wonderful opportunities, and a deep faith, a more biographical sketch can be found in an earlier edition of the Minds We Meet column.

The Gift of Surrender

Well, it’s been an interesting few weeks.  I’ve experienced long COVID, realized I have pressure points that I need to watch otherwise I may get an infection, and have had trouble finding research participants, and dreamed I got euthanized.  I love it!  It means freedom! It may sound crazy but having COVID for the second… Read more »

Hiding in Plain Sight

I have a confession to make; when I get close to the end of something I freeze.  Whether it is the end of a book, consistent therapy sessions, or, admittedly, even my undergrad, I always seem to drag things out to avoid having to confront change.  More simply, I confess that, while I talk a… Read more »

My True Love in my Soul

A couple months ago I wrote to my family and friends saying that, using my paternal grandmothers wedding ring, I was making a commitment to give my heart to my God.  Saying that if I was going to have a romantic relationship I was going to wait until seminary school.  A couple weeks following this,… Read more »

Clarification on the Change of Labels

The last couple weeks I have been speaking about the issue of poverty and the more lethal effects of invisibility syndrome.  Plainly, when society doesn’t see an individual aside from negative assumptions and circumstances, it can kill you (Carr & West, 2013.  pp.  121; Human Concern International, 2022).  Fortunately, this week I feel I can… Read more »

Yes, Again—It’s Dark In The Basement

Last week, I spoke about the devastating effects of poverty on my people.  I apologize if this seems like I’m cheating, somewhat using my first draft of what became my latest piece, but this cannot be overstated: people are dying.  It is my hope is that reflecting on Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta will hopefully… Read more »

S.O.S.! It’s Physical, not just Personal

On November 13th, it was confirmed that if I lived on my own, without the love and support my family, I would be well below poverty and potentially having to weigh the pros and cons of living in poverty or using government assistance in dying to end suffering (Human Concern International, 2022). Unbeknownst to me… Read more »

Save the Baby!

When I was preparing for a rewrite on a recent proposal, one of the articles I found claimed that when able-bodied people feel inspired by someone like me it is discriminatory and is a form of “inspiration porn” (Dunn, 2019.  pp.  672).  To say that I was insulted is gross understatement.  My dream job as… Read more »

Tips For Self-Compassion With Trauma

This article is written in the hopes self-compassion is used when it is realized that a potential trigger may arise even if it is just mentioning the name of a movie that was traumatizing in childhood.  To be clear it is not meant to be used as a substitute for professional assistance.  My only aim… Read more »

Any Questions?

What if …?  In my opinion, this question is the biggest impairment that people in society find themselves with.  Especially when it comes to following our dreams or interacting with people who are different than us. What if I’m wrong?  What if there’s no resources?  What if I’m missing out? We all do this several… Read more »