The Byte: Philip Blackett ~ Family Love Can Cure All Things!

Philip shares two stories this week-and both are heartfelt...there's the story about his twin girls and then...well, then there's the story about Philip's childhood and the fact that he was four years old and still had not uttered a word. But guess what? Once again, we are reminded that Love and Faith and Dedication can conquer all things, and lift each and every one of us up!

Transcript

Hello,

Dear ones,

And welcome back to another episode of the Bite Size Blessings podcast.

This weekend,

I'm introducing you to Philip Blackett,

Who not only has a Master's of Divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,

But also has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

What I really like about Philip and what he puts out into the world that I think is so important and so needed,

So needed right now,

Is that he's all about tolerance and opening your heart to other people,

Even people we might disagree with,

That it is okay to disagree as long as we are open about it,

We are willing to come to the table and have a conversation.

I really like that sentiment,

That we can be okay with others who don't agree with us,

And I certainly have friends who have made choices that I wouldn't make in my life,

But I love them,

And they're dear friends,

And we all create meaning,

We all make decisions in this world based on our understandings about it,

And I just would never want to lose a friendship because someone made a different choice.

So I really appreciate the work that Philip is doing in this world.

In this podcast,

We do talk about Philip and the fact that he's on the autism spectrum.

There is a beautiful,

Beautiful miracle associated with that that was quite powerful that he shared this week.

I really enjoyed my conversation with him,

And I hope you do too.

So now,

Without further ado,

Here's my really fabulous and so very sweet conversation with Philip Blackett.

I think it's a miracle story in itself,

Where when I was growing up in Memphis,

At that time,

People looked at autism,

Autism spectrum disorder,

Asperger's syndromes,

And anything along those lines,

A lot differently than how they look at it now,

And I think part of the miracle story about that,

You know,

Is,

You know,

For me,

When I was growing up,

I was nonverbal until I was about four years old,

According to my mom,

And so I think that part of the miracle for me to even be talking to you today,

Right,

The way and the manner that I talk to you here is a miracle,

Because this wasn't so much something that was just me.

Like,

Somebody had to make that investment to really see something different from what the,

You know,

Whether it was doctors or therapists or psychologists,

All,

And I think a lot of credit goes to my mother and my grandparents,

For sure.

Well,

The main question of the podcast is,

I would love to hear a story or stories where you feel like you've witnessed something that was miraculous or magical,

Even mysterious.

Yeah,

So I think it'd be hard for me to top the twin daughter story,

Just out of fairness,

So I might not be able to do it as much justice following up with another story,

Because that one usually is like the one that's like,

Yep,

That's the haymaker right there.

But you know,

When I think about it,

When I think about miracles,

You know,

It's kind of one of those things for me,

It's just like,

Oftentimes,

I'm reminded every day of how little miracles can happen.

I do come back to as far as like,

My daughters,

Because,

You know,

I just think about it in terms of,

You know,

With them and how they're growing up,

And the different personalities that they're molding that story,

I think.

I think one of the things that came off to my mind was just how blessed that things worked out the way they did for them,

Because I guess the miracle story would be the sense that they got a lot from me,

Obviously,

Because I'm their father.

But another thing they got from me that most people don't know about me is I grew up being on the autism spectrum.

I realized that that's something that you don't necessarily grow out of.

And so that's kind of part of,

You know,

Who you are,

And what makes you you.

And I think it's a miracle story in itself,

Where when I was growing up in Memphis,

At that time,

People looked at autism,

Autism spectrum disorder,

Asperger's syndromes,

Anything along those lines,

A lot differently than how they look at it now.

Right,

So we're talking about.

Forty years ago,

Essentially,

And I think part of the miracle story about that,

You know,

Is.

You know,

For me,

When I was growing up,

I was nonverbal until I was about four years old,

According to my mom.

I would just sit there and smile at you.

Wouldn't say a thing.

And now as a parent,

Trying to imagine what would it be like for my kids to not talk until they're four years old.

Would be pretty dramatic for me.

Right.

And so I think that part of the miracle for me to even be talking to you today,

Right,

The way and the manner that I talk to you here is a miracle because this wasn't so much something that was just me.

Like somebody had to make that investment to really see something different from what the you know,

Whether it's doctors or therapists or psychologists,

All and I think a lot of credit goes to my mother and my grandparents for sure,

Especially my grandmother,

Because I do remember many times,

Many summers.

I would just sit on her lap and she would just talk to me.

Read stories.

She'll work with handwriting with me.

Try to do math,

Phonics,

Flashcards,

Play Chinese checkers as I get older.

She had the type of unconditional love for me that was much needed.

And especially when it comes to like providing services to help accommodate where I was development wise in school.

I think she was very much instrumental and essential for me to be able to get that type of early intervention,

Love and support.

Where it then became something where.

At one point now I'm trying to catch up with my classmates now and,

You know,

Junior high school now I'm like kind of one of the same with them,

But you can't tell the difference.

Obviously like for me,

It's like being on here,

You probably can tell that I'm on the autism spectrum.

So part of it is like being able to quote unquote conceal it,

You know,

As far as any quirks or things that you might be able to point out.

But then my grandmother challenging me to say,

Hey,

Like we've come this far,

Why not take it up a notch?

What would it be like if you really did your best in school?

And so going from like sixth or seventh grade,

Just trying to fit in now and not be made fun of this time to them being valedictorian in my eighth grade class,

And then going on from there and doing well in high school and onward and that sort.

I think that would be part of the miracle story for me,

Because I don't think many people back at that time when I was nonverbal would think that I would have this type of future leading up to my 40th year.

And so now things become in full circle.

I have my kids,

They later are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

At least now we see an event early enough where we can do something about helping them and helping support them,

Because oftentimes the diagnosis is just one part of the equation.

And oftentimes a lot of people get that diagnosis so late in the game,

So to speak,

That they're trying to catch up with time or have lost time.

It may be the sense where it may be too late,

Or just it becomes that much more difficult to help them learn what's needed so that they can be included in classrooms going forward.

And so for us being able to find that out early,

Find the right services,

Being in Boston in particular,

That was able to help accommodate us and help accommodate our kids.

And now as they're finishing first grade,

About to go to second grade,

You probably can't tell the difference in terms of where they've come from.

Just seeing the progress of where they started and where they're at now,

Especially as a father who's on the autism spectrum himself,

I think about it very much as that is a modern day miracle for me now.

All right,

Babes,

I hope you loved and appreciated this really wonderful episode of the podcast.

And I hope you enjoyed getting to meet Philip,

Who is creating beauty in this world,

Kind of every which way he looks.

And we need more of that in this reality that we all live in.

More people creating beauty,

More people fostering tolerance,

And more people inviting others to the table that they might not agree with.

I want to thank everyone who listens to this podcast.

And if you're a first time listener,

And you like it,

And you think it's groovy,

Please do consider writing a review or leaving a rating.

Those ratings and reviews are so important,

But really those ratings,

They help other people find this podcast.

Thank you for listening.

And here's my one request,

Be like Philip,

Invite others to your table.

We are never going to agree 100% with everyone we meet in the world.

We might not even agree with some of the choices our friends make,

Or the way they pivot when they face hard times,

Or how they live their lives.

We might not agree,

But we love them anyway.

Be like Philip and love them anyway.

I think this world is enriched by diversity,

By different choices,

By multiplicity,

By being open to the mystery of the stranger.

So be like Philip,

Open your heart to others.

And pretty soon,

I'm guessing that even your table,

Well,

You're going to have to add a couple of extra leaves,

And also some extra chairs,

Because it will just be abundance.

Abundance of friendship,

Abundance of love,

And an abundance of amazing,

Amazing human beings who love you just as much back.