Thank you for coming

Thank you for coming to the film opening.  You are all really true friends. For more information about the blog about the film visit www.holdinginthestorm.blogspot.com. The day was great.

I am the man who composed the theme poem for this movie, “What it’s like to be me”. I like and admire the movie very much, though I usually tend to prefer documentary films and non-fiction.

I hope that our Bridges-Over-Barriers group will discuss the film some more but here are some thoughts. I love the beauty of the sights and sounds in the film and the contrasts between the peaceful park setting and the busy and noisy lecture theatre.

I know that the film was intended to help neurotypical people understand what it’s like to live with Autism as an adult. But other viewers might like to know that the film also helped with another line of the poem, “I wonder what it’s like to be you?”

Some people have wondered if we autistics would feel insulted and hurt by the attitudes of the “neurotypicals” to us. In fact, I really learned about other people from the film. I saw the “Dave” guy as very enthusiastic and think he would be a great friend. He was very excited about his girl. He was expected to be nervous. Perhaps at first he was insensitive to Matthew but when the girl said she knew Matty he was different. I think many of my friends are like him.

The students were good just like students at the university. They are still young and not sure how to make good decisions on what to say. They will learn hopefully. I would not say those words--that someone is a schizo. I think we need to remember that we are all different as well. I think that I will try to laugh like the students to practice for my university years. I think I will be safer learning from here. I will always be a student. I never stop learning.

I think it was a great day and glad I could talk to people. I think that made it real for them. I see they were curious as to what I was typing with Beth’s support. It was the highlight for me to see people understand the meaning of the film and be sincere not just nice. Sometimes people just say nice things and don’t understand. I see this in their eyes. They don’t seem to really feel comfortable talking to me, but that film day they seemed to know what to say.

Candles from my garden

The plants that we used to make the candles are from my garden.The candles were scented from my roses. The pressed flowers were also from my garden. My garden gives me joy. Happy thoughts come from my garden. The friends that get them (the gifts) are there (in the garden). They are there in spirit.

The herbs in my garden

I love to plan my garden. I have been really excited about growing herbs. So far I've been starting seeds like Monarda and Stevia. I hope to make medicine with my herbs. Tea can be made by Monarda for things like an upset stomach. The tea can also be a good medicine for gas.

Trees Are Intelligent

We can learn a lot about building community from trees. Trees are friends. Not only do they provide humans with oxygen; shade; food; shelter; and beauty, but they are also beneficial to Earth's other creatures.

For instance, the Douglas fir will create a mutually beneficial relationship with a type of fungi growing in the soil. They try to create a network of roots together for the benefit of the whole community. The trees provide the fungi with carbon, and in return the trees get nutrients from the fungi. The network of roots ensures that nutrients are shared among community members. They get transported to where they are needed in order to maintain a balanced ecosystem.

Humans can use this beautiful relationship as an example of how to better interact with trees. We could plant more and try to be friends.

Not only that, we can try to create better relationships with each other in a similar way that the Douglas fir and the fungi do.