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When you are told that you are losing you vision even more than you have, you have a multitude of choices. You can agree with the ophthalmologist that this will have a serious impact on your daily life. You can choose to ignore it and carry on living life regardless. You may wish to become best friends with Siri and search the internet for miracle cures. You can choose to tell all your friends and family, or you can tell none. You can find some professional help for the changes you will need, or you can make up your own solutions as you go along. The reaction of each person will be different as that is the beauty of being human. We always have a choice.
Despite always having double partial vision from birth, I always loved to read the blurry print that I could not really see but always tried. Using methods of deduction rather than ability to read, picking out letters one by one that had less of a haze around excited my brain as I gradually figured out what the word was meant to say. As I worked out the rules of grammar from the blurry books in front of me when words on the board were a mystery, I fell deeper and deeper into the love of the written word. I love a good challenge.
Transitioning from partial sight to being registered as blind was no shock to me as it was inevitable. I did loose the love of smelling books old and new but then the idea of a challenge replaced that love. When I could no longer search for the books that I wanted to read, I thought I may as well start to write them. I wanted to write the positive books that spoke of hope instead of tragedy. My blurry eyes were missing that clarity of thinking in a world that was now inaccessible to me, so I found an alternative way to find that fresh void. Solutions are so simple if we allow them to be.
In an age where technology is so readily available, I would be daft not to use it. Using programmes such as Dolphin that speak to me, a Dictaphone and a magnifier of 1200% on inverted colours on the laptop, writing is more than possible. Having finally finishing writing my first book which has taken me exactly 5 months to do, I am sitting here planning completing my second book that has been eagerly waiting for me on my laptop for a while. Writing when you are blind is possible when you stop seeing barriers and start seeing solutions.
If I can no longer read, I may as well write. When we are faced with problems in life there are a multitude of solutions available to us if we want them bad enough. We are blessed to live in a time where help is in abundance from many difference sources, it’s just a shame we sometimes forget to look in these places. I hope your “can’t” also soon turn into your “may as wells”. Happy challenge fighting, you will smash it.
Popping Wheelies said:
“…is possible when you stop seeing barriers and start seeing solutions.” Brilliant! That is the key to living well with a disability. There are solutions to most things.
Do you mind if I quote this in my blog with proper credit and a link to here? Thank you for putting life into eleven words.
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thesecretblind said:
Go ahead , quote away ☺. It is so true, there is a solution to everything, we just get so caught up in life sometimes we forget about these solutions.
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Mws R said:
I wish you success on your book, and you are right!
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thesecretblind said:
Thank you so much ❤
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Mws R said:
You’re welcome
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Steve Markesich said:
Godspeed
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lindasschaub said:
While you are no longer blessed with having your sight, your positive mental attitude far compensates losing the first of the five senses. Zena – you inspire the rest of us who complain about the silly problems of everyday life … me included in that bunch. Last Tuesday I awoke to a dark house … the power went out. It was totally dark in the house and my flashlight was in the kitchen. I have lived in the house for nearly 52 years, gone up the same hallway from my bedroom, thousands and thousands of times. The light on the stove was out, so pitch dark. I bumped into furniture, ended up in the living room, not the kitchen where I was aiming to shut the alarm clock off (I keep it there so I don’t roll over and fall back into dreamland) … I ran into lamps, the couch … so, until I found the flashlight I was just like you, alone in the pitch dark. My darkness lasted 1/2 of my waking day … I was inconvenienced since I work from home and I lost the contents of my fridge/freezer (the power went out at 11:30 the night before) … I was angry, but it was not permanent. It was fixable. You have an amazing outlook.
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thesecretblind said:
Thank you. Sounds like you had quite a challenge that day. When things happen unexpectedly, it can really knock us out if sorts can’t it? Must have been quite scary getting around an unfamiliar place in the dark. I am so blessed as I have only had partial sight from birth so I have devised my own strategies for memorizing places, steps between each room etc so it is not really that bad. Thanks for reading, always appreciated ☺
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lindasschaub said:
I usually have the big flashlight near my bed, but I moved it to the kitchen just a few days before as we get storms in Summer and I wanted it handy should we lose power. Most of my waking day is spent in the kitchen – I work from home and my laptop is on the kitchen table.
Having lived in the same house, slept in the same room for 52 years, most mornings, I just walk up the hall and the faint light of the stove glowing is lighting my way. It is a very small house! The alarm kept this incessant peeping and I somehow ended up in the living room. It was scary, even though I was in my own house … I got upset, no doubt from thinking about how long I’d be without power (long enough to lose m food in the fridge). Unlike most people, I cannot raise the blinds in my house – my parents got these metal rolling shutters way back in 1969. Since they are so old, and the smaller ones (bathroom or bedrooms) have already broken in the past and costly for new ones, I decided about 5 years ago I would leave them closed all the time. I can look out the door if need be BUT since I have not opened the blinds up, they no longer can be lifted up with their cord … so they are permanently stuck. It is good for security purposes, but it is not good when you have a power outage, as you are totally dependent on a flashlight or lantern to see as it is pitch dark.
It did throw me for a loop … I think the older one gets, the harder it is to get used to those sudden bad events … like you said it can knock us out of sorts. It is that for me anyway at age 62.
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msluckyduck said:
Oh Linda!! I wish I lived near you to come visit. I wonder is there no way to get blinds donated so you can open them. I would think the sunlight would be welcomed. Your response made me feel for someone beyond my own troubles. Your in my thoughts.
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lindasschaub said:
Thank you so much for saying that – I now worry about a fire hazard – something I never really thought about before shutting them permanently … I hope I never have to worry about that aspect. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts; they are appreciated.
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msluckyduck said:
Oh Linda!! Is there a landlord that could replace them? That’s terrible. We must do something!!!
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Pingback: If I Can’t Read I May As Well Write — thesecretblind – Kristalin Davis' Musings on the Human Condition
lorenaemilia said:
Brilliant attitude! And so simly put. You might not have eye sight but you see oh so clearly! X
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thesecretblind said:
Oh thank you so much ☺
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scifihammy said:
I think you are an inspiration to us all. It is one thing to look for the positive, but another to go out there and make it happen. Congratulations on your writing. 🙂
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thesecretblind said:
Thank you so much.
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JourneyofSarah said:
Good Luck😊
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thesecretblind said:
Thank you ☺
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msluckyduck said:
First, I am sorry. Not having sight must be difficult. At the same time you are a special, insightful, creative, positive soul because of it
I’m learning, based on my own disappointments lately, challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. If we can accept them we will find a new way to stand.
I embrace your positivity!! It’s your life, you only get one— enjoy it and MUNCH!!!😉
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thesecretblind said:
Thank you so much for that beautiful comment. I love the way you see challenges as gifts to search for a new centre of gravity. That is so beautifully put and so true. Wishing you all the best in turning disappointments into wins ❤
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It's a Wonder{FULL} Life said:
This post is truly inspiring! I particularly like how you mention that rather than focusing on the barriers, we should start to see the solutions. Thank you for sharing!
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thesecretblind said:
Thank you so much for that lovely comment and thanks for reading. ☺
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Timeless Classics -- Poetry by Ana Daksina said:
You go! Reblogging to sister site “Timeless Wisdoms”
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Pingback: If I Can’t Read I May As Well Write – Timeless Wisdoms
catharticrantss said:
This brought tears to my eyes… it is so ironic that today I was complaining about my weak sight and the small challenges it presents me and then I come across this beautiful piece which puts everything in perspective. Thanks for the positivity I needed today. I hope you get the best from life:’)
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thesecretblind said:
I am so glad the post came to you at the right time 🙂 Hope your sight does not deteriorate anymore and life is kind to you ❤
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catharticrantss said:
Thank you so much:’)
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Rock For Disability said:
Reblogged this on Rock For Disability.
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thesecretblind said:
Thank you ❤
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