[nfbwatlk] Food for Thought

[Carl Jarvis]

How long must we endure?  Just as long as the Media reports blindness as an 
affliction, reporting that we suffer from blindness, the tragic loss of our 
precious sight, stricken blind. If Grandpa suffered with cancer and had to 
go to a nursing home to wait to die, then what do children think when they 
learn that Grandma is suffering from blindness?
When I am out and about in the world do people see me, the capable blind 
man?  Or do they see all of the negative adjectives associated with 
blindness?
Although I consider myself to be a fairly mellow, flexible guy, over the 
years I have become much more rigid in one area.  I refuse to say, "I lost 
my sight".  In fact, I no longer tell folks that I went blind.  I always 
say, "I Became blind".  While it sounds like a small thing, I believe that 
it helps set a more positive tone.  I became a husband.  I became a father. 
I became self-employed.  I became blind.
I want people to see me as I am today.  Help them to focus on the positive 
aspects of my life, not on my loss.  Once you say, "I lost my sight", people 
are caught up in the tragedy of what you once had.  Or in some cases, of 
what you never had.  They are seeing only the negative.
I became a blind man in 1965, and my life has been a wild and wonderful 
ride.  I have never held better jobs.  I met and married a beautiful, 
bright, generous woman.  I look forward to each new day, and the excitement 
that it brings.
When, from time to time someone insists, "but you lost your sight.  That is 
terribly depressing".  I tell them, "I also lost my youth.  I lost my teeth. 
I lost 20 dollars.  I lost a job.  My life is full of losses.  But the great 
secret of Life is that all my losses are behind me.  I am today a blind man. 
And tomorrow, when the Sun rises, I will become involved in living Life to 
the fullest.  I have no time to wallow in loss.

Carl Jarvis