If You Can’t See, How and Do Are a Tough Mix
When I think of things I want to do, it’s easy to get stuck at “how.” For example, the mail comes, and I want to read the mail. How do I do that? I pop the last chip in the bag into my mouth and want more chips. How do I get more chips? I want to call my friend but don’t remember his number. How can I find his number? I want to wear my red shirt with my black pants. How do I know I selected the right ones? I want to go for a walk in the park. How do I do that without getting hurt or lost? I want to do some work on my computer. How is that possible? I could keep adding to my list as you could to yours. But here’s the point. If I could see, the “How?” questions have easy answers. I just open the mail and read it, run over to the corner store and pick up some more chips, scroll through my contacts on my phone and tap on my friend’s number, look in my closet and grab my black pants and red shirt, slip on my walking shoes and head out to the park, pick up my mouse and I’m good to go. If I could see, the “How?” for most everything on my list is simple. But I can’t and the “How?” is not simple. If you used to be able to see, the first step to get past the “How?” issue will likely be the hardest for you to take. Look and do is not an option anymore. You can’t look and read, look and shop, look and tap, look and choose, look and walk, look and click. You can’t look and do anything anymore. That’s the bad news. The good news is that you can still do most things you want to do, just not by looking and doing. The challenge is to get unstuck, to get on past the notion that looking is the only way to facilitate doing. I can’t see, thus I can’t do, is seldom true. The problem is getting stuck on “How?” But that’s not quite it. Close, but not quite. The problem is getting stuck on looking being the only how. It’s not. That’s some more good news. Unfortunately, there is also some more bad news. Alternatives for doing, when looking isn’t an option, are usually neither obvious nor intuitive. I have had most of a lifetime to learn how to do without seeing, but there are still skills I haven’t mastered, strategies I still haven’t learned. Let me close on this episode of Blind How by sharing a simple fact. Not seeing is a nuisance, inconvenient, frustrating, but is what it is. Doing without looking requires a skill set and resources that are neither easy to acquire nor simple to maintain. If you want a quick and easy solution, sit back, relax and hope that someone takes pity and waits on you. Otherwise, here’s the deal: If it is to be, it’s up to me, despite my not being able to see. (Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode of Blind How.)