This isn’t an attempt at glossing over or avoiding the less than best bits of being an autist. Not at all. No way would I ever attempt to do that or consider that to be in any way worthwhile as an aim. Neither do I consider it a worthy attempted distraction from the less than best bits of being an autist, however, it can, maybe (on a good day), run alongside the less than best bits of being an autist. Living life inside the extremes of much, inevitably comes with its challenges. There is no glossing over that and in my opinion, only a fool would try to.
When I paused to think about my view of some of the best bits of autism, I realised that it’s these best bits that make me (mostly) love how I am and it’s these bits that make me feel (almost) happy about the wiring that I have. There is never just one strand of anything seemingly active in my brain or emotions or senses. This is another reason why I’m more likely to be found both loving and hating being autistic simultaneously, whilst also being happy and devastated about it at the same time which all seems to be mixed up in a big ball of mashed up muchness. My internal being, brain, senses and all that is me, is more of a consistently busy motorway convergence; all roads being at different heights with different twists and turns, all needing careful (but speedy) navigation. But in there somewhere, sometimes, I can notice my appreciation of some aspects of being autistic that for me are just fab-u-lous. This is about one of those fab bits.
The process of thinking.
We think a lot. Right?
All kinds of thoughts are possible (as they are for non-autists too, of course). It is easy for us to follow different scenarios through to various (and several) potential outcomes or end points and we can do this rapidly and thoroughly. The exploration of thoughts is (in my view) both our dearest friend and our greatest enemy. For now, just focussing on the friend side of things, our thinking can help us hugely and can impact life on Earth for many. An overstatement? Maybe, or maybe not.
Often, us autists approach thinking, problem solving and creating in abstract ways. Is it a coincidence that the likes of Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Jane Austin, Leonardo Da Vinci, Lewis Carroll, Charles Darwin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Michelangelo and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are suggested as prime candidates for autism by many sources (you can have a look for yourself, if you choose to)? I think it is no coincidence at all. All those people either discovered much, or created much, or were vital in steering the path ahead and the direction of travel within their own areas of specialism. It’s phenomenal. And it is likely that they thought similarly to us. Wowsers.
Did they have the same battles as many of us do? We will never fully know, but from the little one can read about their lives, their behaviours and their temperaments, one could reasonably deduce that, yes, they probably did battle similar things, in themselves and in how they navigated their lives.
I’ve read it many times in various locations that autists can often ‘think outside of the box’. I have one response to that: Why on Earth would I ever want to be thinking in the box, and for that matter, which box? I can’t even begin to imagine why I’d ever want in any way to restrict my thoughts to being boxed. Oh my. In fact, the very notion of that has made something in my brain feel like it’s running around inside my head trying to make sure it can’t be caught and trapped. No, no, no. I will not be boxing my thinking. Neither will I ever be believing it essential that any thinking I do is best approached from inside any box. Boxes might be needed for delivery or organisation, but for goodness’ sake, it is surely not the place for thoughts.
When it is not our enemy, our thinking can be a phenomenal friend and that’s pretty cool, I reckon. When we can get it into ‘the zone’, whatever the zone is for any of us, the potential is quite magnificent, I suggest.
To close, a quote:
“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” (Oscar Wilde)
