As I walked out of my lecture hall at 6.15pm this evening, the sky was pitch black. The path before I got to the traffic light intersection to head home was pretty dark (with no street lights on the sidewalks). Everyone who passed by me faded into the darkness as they hurried home.
My mind was just fixed on reaching home as I was hungry and wanted to eat so badly. Thinking of nothing in particular, my eyes were just roaming the streets. Probably wondering about how dark it was and how winter was nearly approaching when suddenly I heard something tapping, or shall i say scraping the ground. A blind lady came into my rear view.
I found myself slowing my pace, walking parallel next to her.
In that moment, a few thoughts came into my mind. Among them being how grateful I was to be able to see. That thought was immediately disrupted by the fact that I was so interested in the blind lady next to me. With her walking stick in her hand, she braved her way through the unknown.
I couldn't help but realise in that instant, how brave that lady was, to walk on the street on her very own, not being able to see. Given, the lady must have had so much practice and she must have had been so familiar with the road we were on for her to be able to walk on her own, but in that moment I was just amazed at how wonderful she was.
I decided to close my eyes to see what it felt like to not know where I was going. Within 3 seconds upon closing my eyes, they opened due to fear of walking into someone or falling. By then I realized she was already a few steps ahead and began to follow behind her. I had a choice to walk quickly and head home (remember I was hungry) but I didn't. Because I wanted to make sure she got to wherever she wanted to go or at least, made sure she made it to the intersection and went the way she wanted to go.
I silently commended her in my head because to me, the lady was a clear example of what strength looked like. Whether or not she was scared to walk on the road, or whether she felt lonely treading the dark path alone, she exemplified strength. Strength in being able to accept her circumstances and not let it hold her back from experiencing life. Strength for not worrying about what others would think of her as they passed by, and strength to be able to pick herself up from her disability and find ways to challenge herself to continue living, even if she could not see.
3 hours after I came across this blind lady, I still find myself thinking "what an experience it was" to walk alongside her. She taught me what strength is. And it was beautiful. She was beautiful.
She taught me not to be defined by my circumstances but instead taught me to have a beautiful heart. She taught me that attitude can change the way I live my life however grim my situation or circumstance may seem. She taught me what bravery and boldness was, to step into the unknowns trusting that I have a guide, I have a God right beside me.
And little did she know, that I would always remember her, even if she could not see me.
