A few years ago I watched a movie called, "Temple Grandin". (That's her pictured above.) Up until then, I'd never even heard her name. Today, I have to say that she's in my Top Ten of influential people. There was a theme throughout her life…one of doors. She looked at doors as a way to enter another dimension of her life. Whether it was the door to her bedroom, the door to the principal's office, sliding doors…she sucked it up and walked through, knowing that there would be a life-challenge sitting on the other side.
Temple is autistic. She describes herself as feeling like an "anthropologist from Mars" when she's around neurotypical ("normal") people, yet she forces herself into the very situations that terrify her.
When Temple was spending the summer at her Aunt's Colorado ranch, she noticed that the cows became more peaceful when being held in a tight holding stall. Temple went on to invent the Hug Machine after learning of it's ability to calm her down when she became over-anxious. She wouldn't let a human being touch her, but the deep pressure of her Hug Machine worked miracles in keeping her stable.
Here's a pic of it. It looks totally creepy and primitive, but it's widely used in Autism therapy nationwide. I wish I knew someone who had one so I could try it out. You know, just to see. I'm not autistic but I do struggle with social interactions and am extremely sensitive to sensory stimulation. Seriously, I am! People usually scoff when they learn this about me, but it's true. I've just learned to fake a calm exterior to hide the internal flipping out. Coping skills, people. Coping skills. In a February 2010 Time magazine interview, Grandin stated that she no longer uses a hug machine: "It broke two years ago, and I never got around to fixing it. I'm into hugging people now." That's my girl.
Anyway…the whole movie struck a chord with me. Challenged me, actually. Challenged me to feel the fear and do it anyway. To run headfirst into life situations that terrify me but will benefit me in the long run. Sometimes I feel myself begin to scatter and it takes great will power to pull it all back together and find a calm center. But once I'm there, I begin to see that a lot of the big things don't matter. It's the over-looked things that make the difference.
The story of Temple Grandin's life is one of the untainted human soul. She has the ability to see the soul within every living being…not just people. The first lines of the movie were:
"Hello. I'm Temple Grandin. I use my mind to solve problems and invent things."
And what a beautiful mind it is.
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