[nfbwatlk] Food for Thought

[Lauren Merryfield]

Hi,
One of the catalogs out there says it's for people with "vision loss."  I 
think that is weird because some of us never lost our vision; we were born 
blind.
Thanks
Lauren
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar at olypen.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 1:38 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Food for Thought


> 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
>
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