How blind can I get?

To be blind can be two things, as far as I am concerned.

1: Lacking the sense of sight.

2: Unwilling or unable to perceive or understand.

I have been told that a person with no sight compensate by developing stronger senses on hearing, smell, taste, or touch. He or she will miss out on far less stimuli than most sighted people believe. The slightest change in tone of voice, or source of sound will be picked up as well as any other changes in the surroundings.

The ability to perceive stimuli originating from outside or inside the body will increase to levels we who can see have no premises to understand, and we tend to underestimate blind people because we forget they are so totally aware of their surroundings… it is just the sight, which is not present.  

If you are still reading you must think that I am one of the most shallow and unsympathetic person around. But life taught me how to overcome my own shortcomings (and my less fortunate situations), and when I read what Wes Craven ones said, it was like if he was saying something smart he knew I needed to hear:

“A lot of life is dealing with your curse, dealing with the cards you were given that aren't so nice. Does it make you into a monster, or can you temper it in some way, or accept it and go in some other direction?”

I still try, and make an effort to be the best version of myself, without compromising who I am and what I truly stand for. I am not saying I succeed, but I try. And I strongly believe, judging from those I know who have poor or no sight, that most of them, by far, do the same thing. They do not feel sorry for themselves, they take their lemons and make lemonade.

Which brings me to my second perception of what to be blind is.

As I get older and stop feeling sorry for myself and whatever comes my way, I realize how many people I consider to be quite resourceful (and with a certain level of intelligence) choose not to take a stand.

I am not talking about fighting for a cause or stand on the barricades… I am talking about having an opinion about what they read in the newspapers or take part in discussions on topics important to our community or even neighborhood.

I am far from being an activist, I have no really strong believes or causes that I fight for, but I try to keep updated on what is going on in the world. I try to see things from both sides, and I make up my mind on topics. So far so good, that is the easy part. The hard part is to face the consequences.

I would feel very stupid if I said that I strongly disagree with the use of children labour, and then go on buying cheap clothes without checking where they were made and for what brand.

I sometimes wish I did not have a messed up conscience which gets me into situations I am in the risk of being uncomfortable with.

If I was selective blind to certain issues, I could maybe feel a whole lot more relaxed and at ease. But… a Norwegian poet, Arnulf Øverland, put it so right when he wrote that you shall not tolerate so perfectly well, the injustice that does not affect yourself (freely translated, but pretty correct anyway).

What if my kids were affected by injustice, and nobody would stand by their side?

How blind is it ok for me to get?