It may not be a gift to "our world", but I've never experienced another person's consciousness, so I can't say whether the experience is pleasant or not.
I know that there are times when I become very reserved and non-verbal, I've never been tested nor do I care to ever do it, but I probably rate fairly high on the Asperger's scale. I'm aware in these moments that people can feel uneasy around me and, at times, I will even feel a bit awkward about it.
But, even in those moments, I feel tremendous peace within me. I feel absolutely WONDERFUL, content, even blissful. So, while I may appear to others to be "extremely introverted" or "moderately autistic", inwardly, I wouldn't even think for a second to trade my experiences for another persons'.
I feel BLESSED. Absolutely blessed.
Thank you for replying jb. You are right of course.... there's a whole big spectrum out there, with most of the male population somewhere on it (myself included)!
I think lumping the quirky, the introverted, aspergers etc in with severe autism, or mental illness etc has been a bad thing. They are clearly NOT the same thing.
Celebrate the quirks, the freaks, the geeks.... but not the disabled, those in constant pain or unable to live without carers. We need compassion for them & to heal them if possible.
Well said. I agree.