Well, not really.
But I did pretend for a bit.
I told you once before that I'm a dork, and don't say any different until you've finished reading this. You see, I've been rereading the book I loved as a child and yes, it is still just as good today.
I stayed home from church on Sunday morning with some sickies. Caleb was tucked in for his morning nap and Nina was out in the living room watching a DVD with Beka and Matthew, so I decided to treat myself to a hot bath. And while the conditioner was soaking in my hair, I read
Chapter 2 of
Turn Not Pale, Beloved Snail.
The author talks about blindness and shares some illustrations that show how pretending to be blind for a period of time encourages a person to make use of their other senses, thus enabling them to write more descriptively. I loved the excerpt she shared from a book:
"Tolly made a careful note of the distance between himself and the tree. I will walk there without looking, he decided, and set off with his eyes screwed shut. He walked and walked, stretching out his hands to feel the first beech twigs at the extreme end of the banches. But there was only empty air. He walked farther, as far as it could possibly be— but still only emptiness all round him. And there ought to be ivy underfoot, but there wasn't. Why was it all empty? Had everything disappeared? He opened his eyes and found he had hardly moved from where he started. His many steps had been timorous two-inch shuffles instead of paces. It was silly to be so relieved to find the world was permanent."
After reading this chapter, I thought it would be a good learning experience to go blind for awhile. I decided to finish my shower and prepare for the day with my eyes closed. At first, I noticed little difference. It is not so unusual to shower with your eyes closed to keep the water out. I turned the faucet off and tried to picture what was around me. I remembered that I had left my razor lying on the side of the tub, so I fished around a bit to put it up in a safer place. I had previously hung my towel on the rod so I had no problem finding it and drying off. Finding my necessary clothing was a bit more difficult though since I hadn't prepared well ahead of time. After a bit of feeling around, I was able to dress. Next I headed for the closet door to find lotion. I smiled at myself as my hand hit the wall. I hadn't realized I was so close. I backed up a bit, feeling for the door handle, and opened it to reach inside. My hand stretched out but there was nothing. I stumbled forward a bit, then suddenly I recognized the sound of the fan and the feel of a breeze blowing against my face and my eyes flew open as I realized that I was in the bedroom where the baby was napping rather than in the bathroom closet! Snicker. The second time I "cheated" a bit was more a result of aggravation after feeling around the closet floor for awhile for my curling iron and finally giving up. Sure enough, it was buried under a couple of towels that had fallen from the shelf. It did make me appreciate the fact that my face lotion, Q-tips, blowdryer and make-up bag were right where they belonged. I thought of the vital importance of keeping things in their proper places in a home that houses a blind person. I managed to apply my make-up with no problem (although I did peek open a bit to apply mascara) and even curl my bangs, but by the time I put my earrings in and opened the door, I had had enough. Thank God for my vision. Though my sense of smell works overtime, I am primarily a visionary learner. I do so appreciate the ability to see.
I'm not sure how much I learned from the experience as I was concentrating too hard on finishing my task to be much aware of my other senses, but I did manage to humor myself some. And it does make for an interesting story, don't you think? (And taking the pictures to illustrate it was fun for me too. I haven't done self-portraits in a long time. And I kept the eyeball small on purpose. Nothing like someone else's over-sized eyeball popping up on your computer screen, right?)
Now I'm going to issue a challenge to my children to acquire "blindness" for a period of time and then write about it. That was my plan for our writing lesson today, but when we woke to 60 degree weather, I felt it would be pure foolishness to waste this day inside doing schoolwork. So we called a friend and met at the park for two hours of sheer pleasure, playing in the leaves, swinging, climbing, playing catch, walking along the water, and sharing laughter and conversation. We'll write tomorrow.
For now, I'd like to share my latest favorite quote, also taken from the afore mentioned book:
"
...writing doesn't depend as much on the images you see with your eyes, or the sounds you hear with your ears, as it does on your "inner eye," your "inner ear," the understandings you have inside you that you glean from all your senses, including your heart. The more you learn about your own inners, the deeper understanding you will have about yourself and about everybody. You'll be seeing with your heart, and then if you write it down, fine. The writing will be the richer. But the writing's not the most important thing in the world. The understanding is."I've never heard it said quite like that before. I've heard of the sixth sense, but now I know. There's sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, and
heart.
Don't you just love that?
Love,
P.S. The newest assignment is up at
A Thousand Words... but it's still not too late to add your Ordinary Day post. Please do this for yourself. You'll be glad.
