By: Vanya Rhodes
As I stored her things away, I found a treasure trove of wisdom in my blind grandmother's diaries. There I shared her dreams and tears, and learned about beauty.
She spoke of learning to see with her heart. She spoke of learning to rely on her other senses to function and move in a world that is made for sighted folks. As she continued to walk in a world of darkness, she found a new source of light. A world of smells, sounds, taste, and textures that are lost to those of us who walk in the light only seeing with our eyes.
Granny spoke finding beauty in things that she thought were ugly in her sighted days. You can hear her scolding herself for being so blind with eyes that could see. Saying how Old Codger's fur would tickle her as he pranced across her chest as she watch television, and the rumble of his purr warmed her.
Again and again this theme entwined itself into her words. Of how a single rose brought pictures of spring, fairies dancing, and its sweet fragrance painting pictures into her heart. She opened new worlds for me. Never again would I look at anything and just see it! From now on I want to experience it! Each flower, each strain of the birds' songs, the sound of a child's laugh, and taste dancing on my tongue would all have new meanings to me!
She would often sing, "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens and it was one of her favorites. The words of it say that everything is beautiful in its own way, and I learned through my grandmother's words that this is truly so.
The lesson taught in that old saying, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" is this, if you love the as much as my granny, or just like me, now just learning to truly see, then look at everything with heart, soul, and spirit, and not with your eyes then your world will always be beautiful!