i have a friend who is mentally challenged in some respects, and a genius in his ability to get to the core of things and decipher the world around him

i see him struggle with simple tasks and mesmerize me with his insight and discernment

his awareness of his challenges are evident in a conversation we had

”Brother my teapot doesn’t perk the way most peoples do, and it takes me awhile to do things others breeze through. i am challenged in certain things and it used to annoy me but what i don’t have i make up with what i do have. my disability is my ability to see things as they are, without the fears and preferences that so many people have. it’s a beautiful thing when i can help someone smarter than me come down from the cloud and separate wants from reality. many people complicate simple things because they have an agenda and if it doesn’t fit that agenda they are going to try and make it work anyway. i recognize i’m not all that smart really but you don’t necessarily have to be smart to be wise”

i started laughing, ”friend i stopped trying to label you a long time ago, you’re just a horse of a different color, you tickle me and teach me”

to which he replied, ” must be a shortage of teachers”

he went on, ”you see i have accepted my lot and its got its good points and bad points, just like everybody else, and i have met people who have all their faculties and yet they are mentally crippled because of their attitude. i am challenged but not handicapped and grateful not be be a mental cripple, that must be hell.”

i know brilliance when i hear it, lucky to have a friend like you

i almost missed this relationship until i put away what i thought i knew and found out for sure

when we are quick to judge we always miss something