 About the Author:
My name is Pedro Alexandre. I was born and raised in the Portuguese-speaking territories, and I consider myself a lucky PERSON who stammers. I am 53 years old, chronologically speaking. Today, my interest lies in continuing to develop a friendly and healthy relationship with my stutter, in the relationship that this development has with the stuttering of other companions who stammer, and in incorporating the lessons learned in this process into my relationship with the rest of the world and with my different parts. I remain interested in diversity and in helping people understand that birds and other living beings don’t all talk in the same way, nor do they all need to talk in the same way, and we are all free to talk or sing or not as we please. I am interested in learning, relearning, and practicing something I couldn’t do before, for reasons unknown: taking responsibility for my life, finding my happiness using, not only, but also, the invaluable help of my, now friend, stutter and the stuttering community. |
Stuttering is an organic living thing! It’s a fruit within a fruit. Just as I am a fruit of life, so is stuttering.
Everyone here knows what happens to fruits, right? They start out small, sometimes they don’t thrive, they wither and fall, and sometimes… they thrive… and change over time, they take on different shapes and forms, they release different aromas, they acquire different flavors. Stuttering, mine, yours, is no different.
Stuttering makes me a fruit tree, and fruit trees are like all other trees, they are the fruit of a necessity (of life), but in this case fruitful. To be a fruit tree that bears the fruit of stuttering is not to be a lesser tree, it is to be a tree that nourishes and beautifies life in a very particular way, it is to be a tree that bears a fruit that nourishes compassion, empathy, and solidarity. It is to be a tree that nourishes and feeds the fruit of fruits: Humanity.
Stuttering is an organic living thing! It is a fruit within a fruit. Just as I am a fruit of life, so is stuttering.
The tree despairing over the evolution of its fruit is a relatively recent event in the more or less long history of trees, and I dare say it is partially a result of how trees are planted today and their exploitation for commercial purposes, where everything has to be aligned, to have a certain shape, to have a specific and rigorous pantone color, everything has to be artificially fertilized, sterilized, conformed to standards that an insane corporation or a government (or a mother or a father or a brother) has made and demands be followed (If not you are rejected, and we humans… freak out at the mere glimpse of being rejected). What is desired is no longer a healthy, nutritious, tasty fruit, forged by a panoply of natural elements in the company of… other misaligned plants, birds, insects at the mercy of the wind, of the sun, of the rain, but rather a voluminous and shiny product, perfect they say, ready to be marketed at a good price.
Perhaps the solution to my despair… is… to the best of my abilities and circumstances, to let myself grow organically. Growing organically in these times is not easy, nor is it always possible because… well… but to rebel a bit and seek out naturally fertile soil, where other fruit trees grow, some of my own kind, and allow myself to be with them and appreciate the different shades with which time and the seasons naturally paint the different fruits, is perhaps the best thing I can do for myself and for life.
Stuttering is an organic living thing! It is a fruit within a fruit. Just as I am a fruit of life, so is stuttering. There is juice in stuttering; may life allow us all to find it, savor it, and share it.
What’s your shade?
Hello Pedro
Thank for this wonderful paper. I really like the analogy that you have created.
I wish for you to continue to explore, to grow, and to thrive.
Hanan
Thank you so much Hanan! Even if I don’t want to, I’ll, and so will you. There’s no escaping it.
Hi Pedro,
This is such a wonderful illustration of the shades of stuttering. Your analogy perfectly describes the journey and the different ways that a person who stutters can feel about stuttering at any given time.
It is refreshing to read “stuttering is an organic, living thing.” Yes, it is – it is a part of life for we who stutter and it can change every minute, every hour and every day. You are helping others – not just those who stutter – to see that.
Pam
Thank you so much Pamela!
Yes, it’s a journey and I need to let go, to surrender to it without complacency, just like any other fruit that ripens.
Hi Pedro,
I appreciate your depiction of stuttering and embracing being organic and true to who you really are! It is an important message to spread.
Thank you Maddie Tiago! The bees will spread.
Not only have I never considered my stutter to be “juicy” ;o) … but also, to be a fruit tree of stuttering, whose stuttering fruits “nourish and beautify” humanity!! OH GOODNESS. That is so lovely Pedro. I can feel your tree canopy offering not only fruit as nourishment, but also your foliage as the shade of protection. So potent and gorgeous is this analogy.
Thank You! : )
Well… it is as it is… often it’s a matter of perspective… of reaching another perspective.
Sometimes I have to walk a little uphill to see the forest from a different angle…
“the most beautiful view of the valley is from halfway up the mountain”.
Love it Pedro! And I totally agree stuttering is a living thing within someone. It tells you stuff about itself and about the person. As a therapist I do use this thinking sometimes, and it certainly helps the therapy and the client forwards!
Thank you so much for sharing this thoughts here!
Pedro, thank you for writing this! Your thoughts are so beautiful and poetic.
I think this offers a fresh perspective on stuttering and people who stutter.
I believe in what you write. ❤️
Wow Pedro! I love this post because this is such a great way to depict life’s difficulties and shaping these experiences into something positive. As an individual with ADHD, I demonstrate disfluent speech at some points. Your fruit analogy opened my eyes as in reality there is beauty within each areas of growth or our experiences. In my experience, stepping into the professional field with fast rate of speech, I am learning to control my speed and accuracy of speech while compensating for my ADHD brain! Anyway I wanted to let you know that your story opened the way I look at life’s challenges! I have one question: Who has inspired you to be motivated to seek positivity rather than negativity regarding your stutter?