Inventing Your Life
“Clarity Without Sight”
By
Rob Claudio
After the busy holiday season came to an end and the lights along
with decorations were put away until the end of this year, I contemplated the
possibilities in the new year ahead. I am always hopeful that I can
achieve more, as I balance this by also getting rid of things that do not serve
me well any longer. Usually, my year begins with immense gratitude that I
got to live through another year, as I was able to see and celebrate last year's
conclusion with family along with close friends. At the end of my holiday
vacation down time, I was also able to catch up on lots of recorded shows that
I seem to not get to, until I find the extra time. Among my finds was an
episode on 60 Minutes, which highlighted the life of an architect in the Bay
Area, who in his mid-life years lost his ability to see due to a removal of a
tumor in his head. He was married with a son and walked the reporter
through his harrowing life changing event, as he was left to begin the most
challenging part of his life without having his precious sight. He
mentioned how much he focused on his young son through this experience, as he
wanted to be a great example to him in showing how one can overcome any type of
adversity. His focus on being the best example to his wife and son, cast
the light away from his new blind condition as he set out a new course for
living in a world that he was used to in a very different way. Then after
a thirty-day recovery from a surgery that took away his sight, he decided he
needed to go back to work. However, as an architect this would prove to
be even more challenging as he needed to begin his career with the help of some
role models, who had experience in transitioning to leading productive lives
without seeing. Upon receiving some needed assistance from those
individuals, he went about finding his way back to architecture with a
different twist. He managed to figure out how to draw by using some
malleable material that he could bend into shapes, which would take shape in
the form of architecture drawings. Amazingly enough his career brought
him to become a new type of architect, with an added feature of making things
more accessible for blind people.
Through his new invigorated work, he has been hired on many projects
with world renowned companies, whom he has helped to be better modern workplaces
along with aesthetic designs for people with sight and without. At the
conclusion of his interview they asked him if he were able to get his sight
back would that change his architectural ability now and he responded
emphatically that not having sight gave him the needed clarity to be a better
architect. I found his story along with his final answer to be so
powerful and uplifting, when you consider how many of us with all our faculties
may not be reaching our full potential, given that we may not suffer from many
if any limitations. His perspective on life, his love for his family and
his determination to change for the better was the best ending to my recordings
of last year, which I was so happy I did not get to until a quiet retrospective
morning in twenty nineteen. This story can help many of us remember that
we can overlook our ability to do more and be better, by not taking things for
granted. How we react to circumstances and our resolve to rise above
anything that may be perceived as a hurdle, may end up making us even better in
our days to come. Therefore, as you plan your year ahead, remember the
lesson from the architect, who learned that clarity can come from not having
eyesight and the world can be even brighter if you are determined to look at it
that way.
“If my ship sails from sight, it doesn't mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends.”
-Enoch Powell
