Karen offers us an inspirational look at the need for us to be willing to take risks.
Taking Risks is part of life. We would not be truly living if we did not take chances and experience some level of stress. Every opportunity we take, every decision we make involves taking some kind of risk. We need to make choices, for if we do not, our choices will be made for us. Do not live passively, be an active participant. Get involved, do what you can to make a difference. Change the world in a small way if possible. We are all here to learn valuable lessons and to make some kind of difference in the lives we touch. There is a purpose for all that happens to us. Life is too short and time will pass you by. WE can learn from not only our successes but also our failures. As they say, ” one must sit down to failure before one can dine on success”. Don’t allow your failures or fears to paralyze you and keep you from really living!
We all need to be productive and become involved in our communities; whether we are employed, volunteer or take classes, we need to do something. Life is too short. It is very precious. Make the best of the time you have. ” Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift”.
For those of us whom have a disability, we often encounter obstacles that make it more difficult to achieve our goals. AS a result, our judgment is sometimes clouded, our perception of reality occasionally distorted. Don’t quit! Don’t give up on yourself and on life. Take charge! Live your life to the fullest. Otherwise, you will feel regret over all the lost opportunities and wonder what might have been, what changes you could have made , whom you could have inspired.
So, take that risk, whatever it is; Take that job, buy that home, travel. Take the chance!
If we all do our best and make the most of each day, we will, one day, really “change what it means to be blind”!
WE all need to focus on what is important, how to improve the lives of all of us who happen to be blind. Don’t criticize the efforts of another person unless you have some facts to constructively support your position. Instead, maximize your efforts. Work together to provide suggestions and enable all to have a better, more fulfilling life: to gain access to information, increase effective transportation options and improve social attitudes about blindness. It is counter productive to be critical or resistant to others whom are attempting to improve the quality of the lives of the blind. Let’s put forth our best effort, put our best foot forward and do all that we can to truly ” change what it means to be blind”. The choice is yours! Take the risk! Live and light the way, for anything is possible. Let’s Boldly go where the blind have never been before! It will be a brave and brighter new world for us all!
Just as a for-instance, learn to play a musical instrument. Oh, and don’t let the fact you may be an adult and have left your school days far behind deter you from that “learn” word. OK, it’s perhaps not as risky as some of the other life-changing things one might do, but consider the benefits. Learning to play an instrument lets you work on your motor skills. It gives you an excuse to exercise your memory, especially given that it’s not usually possible to play and read your braille music at the same time. Remember what they say about memory: “Use it or lose it.” Then, too, as you get better, you can take satisfaction in knowing you’re acquiring a new ability. You have something you can show your friends and family. If you get good enough, you just might be able to make some money at it if you want to. Demonstrating the ability to learn to play might be a way to open a sighted instructor’s eyes to what it really means (and maybe what it doesn’t mean) to be blind or visually impaired.
Each day is a gift. Make the most of it.