In the “Parable of the Sower,” the character Lauren has a disability, which causes her to overshare and feel overly empathic towards others. Lauren understands her disability as something that allows her to be more compassionate and understand others’ feelings. For example, in one of the passages, she talks about murders and violence and argues that if more people had her disability, they would kill only if they had to. Moreover, she continues to reflect on this idea by stating that even if such a person would kill, they would be destroyed by the pain from the suffering they have caused.
Therefore, the positive aspects of Lauren’s disability are the effect that it has on her ability to understand others. Since Lauren is very compassionate and comprehends the pain of others very well, she cannot harm people. However, the negative effect of that is her lack of ability to stand up for herself and defend herself if needed, since she would be stopped by her ability to understand the feelings of other people. Another negative effect of this is that Lauren stops herself from any action that can potentially cause pain to others, which may hinder her from achieving what she wants. Considering these arguments and the passage presented in the prompt for this discussion, Lauren’s condition should not be considered a disability. On the contrary, it provides her with more opportunities to do good, unlike people who do not possess her level of empathy. Hence, Lauren understands the limitations and benefits of her disability very well, and she addresses her condition by trying not to harm others, as she understands the consequences of such actions very well.