1. Discovering Patterns 33
tings, usually have a deep-rooted and permanent effect on personality
and behavior. For that reason, I rely heavily on such traits for clues to the
core of a person's character.
Someone confined to a wheelchair from birth has spent a lifetime
compensating for what the able-bodied take for granted. He has suffered
discrimination and been pointed at, laughed at, and talked down to as if
his mind functioned no better than his legs. In most cases, such experi-ences
can't help but cause his handicap to become central to his life. The
same can be said of the attitudes of many minorities, the obese, the phys-ically
deformed, the mentally and emotionally challenged, and those
who suffer from debilitating diseases.
When searching for patterns among the traits of those whose life ex-periences
have been drastically affected by their nonelective traits, I first
focus on what the effects have been, and on what the people have done
to try to overcome the obstacles they face. Are they fighters, who strug-gle
with a walker rather than yield to a wheelchair? Are they indepen-dent?
Do they choose to read Braille, rather than rely on a helper? Are
they confident enough to venture out in public without hiding their de-formity?
When they go out in public, are they self-assured, or do they
avert their eyes to avoid the stares of young children and insensitive
adults?
Some people meet with enthusiasm, resolve, and good nature what-ever
challenges the fates have thrown their way. Others retreat, defeated
and bitter. Most find a path somewhere in between. The course they
choose may reveal much about their personalities.
Most nonelective traits are less significant than those just discussed. If
they aren't extremely unusual, facial features, height, body proportion,
and the like generally don't warrant special consideration—unless some-one
decides to alter what would be a permanent nonelective trait but for
the miracles of modern medicine. Whenever I meet someone who has in-vested
the time, energy, and money required to permanently alter some
aspect of her physical appearance, I look particularly hard at what that
says about her desires and priorities. Whatever significance a trait might
normally have will apply twofold if someone wanted it badly enough to
go shopping for it.
Not all nonelective traits are physical. Financial status, for example:
the average person can't wake up in the morning and decide, "Today I
think I'll move into a million-dollar home and drive a Porsche to work."
Like someone with a physical handicap, a person with a limited income
will learn to cope in some way. How people choose to spend whatever
money they have can speak volumes about their beliefs and values. If