Like others who are blind, much of how I understand the physical world is literally shaped by touch.
I recently sat down with Ability Magazine to talk about losing my eyesight and finding ways to “alchemize” it into meaningful achievements in my life.
It’s also Braille Literacy Month, and so I wanted to highlight a story from the interview where I describe how a rock climbing trip with the Carroll Center for the Blind changed my outlook during a time when I was struggling with acceptance and learning to use the tools of blindness.
“I just loved problem solving my way up the rock face, feeling and scanning my hands up the rock, my hands and feet as my eyes, trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B to point C. It was just so dynamic and energizing and engaging… And I just thought, wow, this is the adventure I thought I’d lost. Maybe I didn’t lose it. Maybe I can still do this stuff.
It was a good lesson for me because I realized that I wasn’t going to rock climb like the sighted kid next to me, I was going to feel my way up the face… So I thought maybe I can apply this to other things in life – maybe I should start actually using my cane, and I should start learning braille. I should take it seriously, and I should use a computer with a voice synthesizer so I can type my essays and read them in Braille in class… I could stand up like everyone else and read out loud… I realized that those skills, those tools of blindness that I thought would make me stand out like a sore thumb, actually brought me back to the world.”
I hope all of you out there use the abilities, help, and resources available to you to keep reaching in your life!
Check out the full interview here: https://abilitymagazine.com/erik-weihenmayer-no-barriers/.
