Holding / Being Held; Strength in shared weight
By Kaygan Lane
[Description: Two hands outstretched with vine plants and violet flowers. Intertwined are constellations and stars surrounding the text]
Leadership is often imagined as a solo act – a single figure standing tall. But leadership is not an inherent trait that some possess.
To lead is to stand fully in the weight of who you are.
[Description: A large bird soars to the top of the frame, blue flowers grow from beneath.]
In our vulnerability we find power – not because we carry less but because we carry more.
[Description: A bird stares head on, surrounded by star and mapped constellations.]
It’s not about a position – it’s about a direction.
[Description: Blue and purple pansies grow, some are only buds whilst others are fully bloomed.]
Leadership is a delicate balance between roots and resistance – preserving disabled cultural identity while pushing back against systems that seek to erase it.
[Description: A tree with roots seeping into the soil, interconnected stars surround it.]
It’s a resistance to ableism, to colonised narratives, to assimilation, to exploitation, and to isolation. For disabled people leadership begins as an act of refusal – a refusal to be invisible, a refusal to conform.
[Description: To birds lean on each other nuzzling amongst the stars.]
Leadership is not about reaching an imagined pinnacle; it’s about leaning into the vulnerability of being seen and seen together.
[Description: Two birds lean together forming the shape of a mountain. Both have their eyes closed in contentment and are holding space and constellations between them.]
To lead is to act in community – the choices we make together. Each of us leads in our own way and depend on others to do the same.
[Description: A hand with a brown skin tone reaches out, pouring an offering of stars and constellations.]
To lead is to know we are always becoming… – shaped by those around us and shaping those who come next.
[Description: An arm wearing bracelets and rings reaches out to vines, offering stars, their own kind of magic.]
We are not the sum of our silence, but the resonance of our sound.
[Description: Birds fly in a formation together, intertwined with stars and connections.]
What we offer to each other matters. It’s the quiet work – the uncelebrated labour of lifting, of carrying, of ensuring none of us are left behind.
[Description: A hand holds out a fluffy green moth, surrounded by stars.]
I am so lucky to have so many in my system. And they are lucky to have me. I hold what I must with care, knowing my strength is drawn from those that hold me in return.
[Description: A large green vine grown around the frame, a bird stands underneath pecking at the ground.]
What we create together is not built on solitary dreams…
[Description: Purple pansies grow together.]
…but on the hum of shared hopes.
[Description: A bird stares solemnly.]
Happy International Day of People with Disability to all our young disabled peers.
[Description: A hand outstretched with vine plants and violet flowers. Intertwined are constellations and stars surrounding the text]
About the author:
Kay (she/they) is a queer autistic multiply disabled activist passionate about the equitable participation in life for people with disability. They live on the unceded lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people in Boorloo (Perth). Kay is passionate about creating space for young disabled people to take leadership roles on their communities.
Follow Kay’s art on instagram: @kayganlane
