I've been walking to work from my place more often than not now that the weather is better. Yesterday morning I had a pretty fast pace and was determined to get my sweat on and get a good start to my day. So here I am, clipping along at a good pace, my brown boots clacking loudly against the sidewalk beneath my feet, when I look up the way to see an old woman coming up to the corner from another direction. She called out "Can you help me?", and I looked around to see who she might be talking to. There was no one around and my only thought was that she might have been going a bit senile and talking to herself or someone that only she could see. So I kept on walking and had almost walked right by her when she asked again "Excuse me, could you help me?" I skidded to a halt and, looked around, replied "Are you talking to me?". She replied with a quick "Yes, yes, I'm blind you see, and I need someone to help me walk to Whitespot. I'm going for breakfast." The first thing that crossed my mind was that it was a really unusual request. I mean, here's this elderly woman well dressed up and out on the sidewalk walking along using her big umbrella as a cane to support her, calling out to anyone who she can hear coming down the street, and then asking them to walk her to Whitespot? Stranger things have been known to happen, and naturally I said "Yes, of course I can help". Positioning myself on her free arm side so that she could take my arm easily, together we started walking down the road at a much more slower place than I wanted. It seemed like she knew the drill though, and it was a regular morning routine to ask any passerby to help her get to Whitespot, because she just naturally took my arm as if I was someone she had known and trusted for a long time. I had a fleeting thought about the loss of my fast-paced walk to work, but the thought was quickly replaced by the realization that I was meant to learn something here.
As we walked together, the umbrella that she used to give her better balance tapping along the sidewalk, she briefly told me about her life; how she lived on her own and really liked the neighbourhood and had been here for many years. I came to understand that she was entirely on her own, and liked hearing her mild German accent. I understood right away that her family all lived elsewhere. But the bigger thing I understood from her was that she was a very strong woman, still very mentally intact, and was accustomed to getting herself out of her home for a morning walk to Whitespot for breakfast every day. I surmised that it was pretty standard for her to request assistance from anyone who she could hear walking by. My boots had given me away and it was my turn to do a good deed. But, I thought, it wasn't so much of a good deed as it was just a simple payback for all the years that she must've also willingingly done favours for people in need; strangers, neighbours, and family alike. Karma, so to speak. And here in our fast-paced reality we hardly ever stop for anyone anymore, whereas this woman had grown up living a life where it was standard to help out wherever one could. This neighbourly and kind oulook on how to treat strangers was so standard to her that she now expects to simply walk out to the street corner and grab the arm of the next pedestrian who is walking by. I also realized that she knew the walk very well, as it was she who guided me along the sidewalk saying "Please go straight up to the corner, don't take the little pathway that cuts across the yard...", and "Now let me reach for the door myself, I don't need you to do it for me." She was strong, independent, and completely capable except for loss of sight that must've gradually happened over the years. She absolutely knew her way around, and she could tell if the weather was okay by being able to judge the light and darkness of any given day, making a comment about how she'd just "look outside" to see if it was raining or not. We rounded the corner onto busy Cambie Street and I walked her up to the door of the restaurant, we said a quick goodbye, and I watched as she naturally found the door handle and let herself in. She even knew where the uneven parts of the sidewalk were, and is probably half the reason why she asks someone every day for assistance. She carried herself with pride - her back and shoulders were straight and tall. She was a handsome woman who had her hair done up nicely, and even her clothes matched with her umbrella. This isn't what we envision when we consider someone who is both elderly and blind, is it? Wow. What a gal!
She taught me something in those few minutes that we spent together. First, she taught me that I need to be more thankful on a daily basis for the things that I do have and have completely taken for granted: vision, hearing, the use of four limbs, a good strong heart, the ability to speak; the use of all my senses. But she also taught me about grace and self-respect, and the importance of refusing to settle with the status quo. This woman was not held back at all because of her eyesight, she doesn't sit in her home all day long crying about how she can't do things she'd like to do. No, instead she asks for help when she needs it but makes it clear that she only needs assistance with just a small part of it - she's not an imbecile and doesn't like to be treated like one just because she has finally, after all these years, lost the use of her eyes. She hasn't lost the use of her brain or any other part of her body, and my sense is that she has a heightened sense of intuition and psychic ability - she knew that she was asking a good person (moi!) to help her out, and I felt her energy jolt and find the sync up with mine when she put her arm through my arm. She used the power of connection, and to do that one must be very aware. I can only hope to be as graceful, intelligent, and courageous as her when I am her age.
In recent weeks some friends have told me about ailments that are bothering them, and even though I've been able to offer some very reasonable and healthy solutions to them, some seem intent on only listening to their doctors for things that their bodies already know the answers to. Other strange stories have been cropping up about Hollywood movie stars who are undergoing elective surgery to have a double-mastectomy when they are still completely healthy. I am absolutely baffled by the energy that society puts into creating a fear of illness when they could choose to instead promote healthy and wholistic ways to keep in shape inside and out, and just be happy about their bodies. People could choose to be educated yet fearless about diseases that loom in the ethers, and not frightened about it as if it's just waiting there to reach out and grab the next fragile, unassuming person and drag them down into a deep hole. The blind woman on the street corner could have every excuse to feel incompetant about how to carry on through life, using the loss of sight as her crutch. If anyone has a good reason to feel frightened, in my opinion in should be her. Instead this otherwise healthy woman has decided to defy what society would think she should be: powerless, inept and unhealthy. She is defying age, basically. We have a choice to be as strong or as weak as we want to be. We have a choice to believe and feed into common notions about poor health and compromised conditions, or to educate ourselves on how to be create wellness and optimal health for ourselves. To me, being unable to use my sense of sight would be something I would not even like to consider. But then imagine being totally healthy and fully capable of creating better health, and then knowingly allowing yourself to believe that you have to be sick or that you already are (genetically) sick. This causes me to look more closely at what self-defeating thoughts we hold for ourselves. The blind woman didn't have her eyesight, it's true. But what she did have was a sense of well-being and a strong will. She wasn't going to let the incapacity to use her eyes stop her from living a full life, no way! What a gift it was for me to have the opportunity to walk with this wise woman, a Goddess in the winter of her life. These days elderly women aren't usually given any consideration at all, and emphasis is only given to those who are youthful in their appearance or to those who are still in their reproductive years. Yet some of those who are what society would consider "beautiful" or "sexy" still choose to believe there is something wrong with themselves and that they are physically unwell. But this woman knows that she can still think and act for herself, and she probably also knows that she still has so much more to learn in this life. She doesn't let her lack of eyesight get in her way. To me, instead she seemed like the type of person others should seek out for guidance, knowledge, and insight (pardon the pun). Maybe those who believe that there is something wrong with them should be asking this lady what she thinks of their problems and ailments. I can tell you she would have had a pretty bold and blunt answer for any moaner or complainer!
My point in all this is that because of this wise Sage who seemingly has no-one around to assist her in life, I've been given yet another reminder to be thankful for what I have and to view life more clearly. I have my health, my job, my family, my friends. I am able to come and go as I please. I hope that this story can also help to remind you all to enjoy your ability to be wild and free and 100% healthy, and to remember the strength, courage, and wisdom that is within all of us. Sight or no sight, we can all choose a life of well-being, goodness, and vibrancy. And while some are out there promoting and hollywood-izing their courage against a disease they don't even have and the drastic, unreal measures they've taken to ensure they never get it, the real truth is that we are as well and as strong as we believe ourselves to be. So make a toast to your own good health, to your ability to SEE, and to the choice of being strong and well. Here's to it!
Charleen xo
As we walked together, the umbrella that she used to give her better balance tapping along the sidewalk, she briefly told me about her life; how she lived on her own and really liked the neighbourhood and had been here for many years. I came to understand that she was entirely on her own, and liked hearing her mild German accent. I understood right away that her family all lived elsewhere. But the bigger thing I understood from her was that she was a very strong woman, still very mentally intact, and was accustomed to getting herself out of her home for a morning walk to Whitespot for breakfast every day. I surmised that it was pretty standard for her to request assistance from anyone who she could hear walking by. My boots had given me away and it was my turn to do a good deed. But, I thought, it wasn't so much of a good deed as it was just a simple payback for all the years that she must've also willingingly done favours for people in need; strangers, neighbours, and family alike. Karma, so to speak. And here in our fast-paced reality we hardly ever stop for anyone anymore, whereas this woman had grown up living a life where it was standard to help out wherever one could. This neighbourly and kind oulook on how to treat strangers was so standard to her that she now expects to simply walk out to the street corner and grab the arm of the next pedestrian who is walking by. I also realized that she knew the walk very well, as it was she who guided me along the sidewalk saying "Please go straight up to the corner, don't take the little pathway that cuts across the yard...", and "Now let me reach for the door myself, I don't need you to do it for me." She was strong, independent, and completely capable except for loss of sight that must've gradually happened over the years. She absolutely knew her way around, and she could tell if the weather was okay by being able to judge the light and darkness of any given day, making a comment about how she'd just "look outside" to see if it was raining or not. We rounded the corner onto busy Cambie Street and I walked her up to the door of the restaurant, we said a quick goodbye, and I watched as she naturally found the door handle and let herself in. She even knew where the uneven parts of the sidewalk were, and is probably half the reason why she asks someone every day for assistance. She carried herself with pride - her back and shoulders were straight and tall. She was a handsome woman who had her hair done up nicely, and even her clothes matched with her umbrella. This isn't what we envision when we consider someone who is both elderly and blind, is it? Wow. What a gal!
She taught me something in those few minutes that we spent together. First, she taught me that I need to be more thankful on a daily basis for the things that I do have and have completely taken for granted: vision, hearing, the use of four limbs, a good strong heart, the ability to speak; the use of all my senses. But she also taught me about grace and self-respect, and the importance of refusing to settle with the status quo. This woman was not held back at all because of her eyesight, she doesn't sit in her home all day long crying about how she can't do things she'd like to do. No, instead she asks for help when she needs it but makes it clear that she only needs assistance with just a small part of it - she's not an imbecile and doesn't like to be treated like one just because she has finally, after all these years, lost the use of her eyes. She hasn't lost the use of her brain or any other part of her body, and my sense is that she has a heightened sense of intuition and psychic ability - she knew that she was asking a good person (moi!) to help her out, and I felt her energy jolt and find the sync up with mine when she put her arm through my arm. She used the power of connection, and to do that one must be very aware. I can only hope to be as graceful, intelligent, and courageous as her when I am her age.
In recent weeks some friends have told me about ailments that are bothering them, and even though I've been able to offer some very reasonable and healthy solutions to them, some seem intent on only listening to their doctors for things that their bodies already know the answers to. Other strange stories have been cropping up about Hollywood movie stars who are undergoing elective surgery to have a double-mastectomy when they are still completely healthy. I am absolutely baffled by the energy that society puts into creating a fear of illness when they could choose to instead promote healthy and wholistic ways to keep in shape inside and out, and just be happy about their bodies. People could choose to be educated yet fearless about diseases that loom in the ethers, and not frightened about it as if it's just waiting there to reach out and grab the next fragile, unassuming person and drag them down into a deep hole. The blind woman on the street corner could have every excuse to feel incompetant about how to carry on through life, using the loss of sight as her crutch. If anyone has a good reason to feel frightened, in my opinion in should be her. Instead this otherwise healthy woman has decided to defy what society would think she should be: powerless, inept and unhealthy. She is defying age, basically. We have a choice to be as strong or as weak as we want to be. We have a choice to believe and feed into common notions about poor health and compromised conditions, or to educate ourselves on how to be create wellness and optimal health for ourselves. To me, being unable to use my sense of sight would be something I would not even like to consider. But then imagine being totally healthy and fully capable of creating better health, and then knowingly allowing yourself to believe that you have to be sick or that you already are (genetically) sick. This causes me to look more closely at what self-defeating thoughts we hold for ourselves. The blind woman didn't have her eyesight, it's true. But what she did have was a sense of well-being and a strong will. She wasn't going to let the incapacity to use her eyes stop her from living a full life, no way! What a gift it was for me to have the opportunity to walk with this wise woman, a Goddess in the winter of her life. These days elderly women aren't usually given any consideration at all, and emphasis is only given to those who are youthful in their appearance or to those who are still in their reproductive years. Yet some of those who are what society would consider "beautiful" or "sexy" still choose to believe there is something wrong with themselves and that they are physically unwell. But this woman knows that she can still think and act for herself, and she probably also knows that she still has so much more to learn in this life. She doesn't let her lack of eyesight get in her way. To me, instead she seemed like the type of person others should seek out for guidance, knowledge, and insight (pardon the pun). Maybe those who believe that there is something wrong with them should be asking this lady what she thinks of their problems and ailments. I can tell you she would have had a pretty bold and blunt answer for any moaner or complainer!
My point in all this is that because of this wise Sage who seemingly has no-one around to assist her in life, I've been given yet another reminder to be thankful for what I have and to view life more clearly. I have my health, my job, my family, my friends. I am able to come and go as I please. I hope that this story can also help to remind you all to enjoy your ability to be wild and free and 100% healthy, and to remember the strength, courage, and wisdom that is within all of us. Sight or no sight, we can all choose a life of well-being, goodness, and vibrancy. And while some are out there promoting and hollywood-izing their courage against a disease they don't even have and the drastic, unreal measures they've taken to ensure they never get it, the real truth is that we are as well and as strong as we believe ourselves to be. So make a toast to your own good health, to your ability to SEE, and to the choice of being strong and well. Here's to it!
Charleen xo
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