Blindness

On Friday, as I was walking out of a station, there was this booth selling many little doggie keychains, bag printed with dog pictures, etc and in front of this booth there were two guide dogs laying on the floor. There were people asking for donations.

At first glance, I had thought it was for an animal shelter, but as I took real notice of the dogs, it was actually to support the training of guide dogs for the blind. I bought a little guide dog keychain from them to support their efforts. It was a very cute soft toy dog. If I ever see it again, I would gladly get other colors as they wear different jacket colors but they only have black or brown for the dog.

That sight and action were actually quite thought provoking. Quite often than not, I wonder what is it like to live in a dark world without the ability to see but having to rely on your other four senses and not being able to see what I had once gotten to see and having to rely only on all those memories I have gained prior to the blindness to visualise in my mind by using all my four senses that's left. It's an inspiring thought for the most part. Or should that be a disturbing thought?

I was sitting in an office building with some open space and tables for people to relax. I was killing some time while having my lunch and I wasn't in a rush at all, just enjoying every minute of that free time. As I looked outside the glass, the breeze blowing and the branches and leaves of the trees swayed gayly and effortlessly on a somewhat sunny but chilly day at the same time.

Holding that thought back at the station, I started pondering as I looked at the trees outside and the people who were outside enjoying the breeze and the thought of people who just walked by and the thousands of people who commute and go through each station, etc.

How often do people take a moment to look at the things around them or the things that they pass by or pass by them?

What would it have been like if I had lost my eyesight after having used all my five senses and seen all the beauty and ugliness that this world presents?

And what would it have been like if I was born blind and have had always relied on my other four senses to get on in life and not having seen anything?

How different would my world and the world be in my mind?

For those who have seen only ugliness, then being blind would be somewhat a blessing to them, but to those who have seen beauty, it would probably be a total despair to lose that ability. In this modern age, most people are "blind" anyway. Would losing their eyesight awaken the "blindness"?

And do we say that someone who was born blind and not able to imagine exactly how something looks like as they would have if they have seen it before then go blind an unfortunate thing? Or would you say it's a blessing in disguise?

As these thoughts ran through my mind, I thought to myself how often in my past have I overlooked things that were in my path - be it people, nature, experiences, etc? How often do people rush through life and not notice much what passes them?

From that day on, I've learnt to appreciate the beauty around me even more and still having my eyes to see things each day I wake up and capturing every moment in my mind be it of the past or present. From this, it has also inspired me even more to take up photography more seriously.

That's my food for thought of the week.

Published on: Apr 22, 2007 @ 2:26