Raghav had just finished eating his breakfast of dosas with the spicy 'idli powder' that he so loves. I was in the kitchen, when I heard a call -
"Amma, come quick.....you need to guide me to the bathroom!"
I popped out of the kitchen to see what had happened, and saw him squinting, closing both eyes and his hands outstretched.
"What happened? Did you put your hands in your eyes?", I asked.
"Yes...I forgot that I hadn't washed my hands," he whimpered. "Please...you have to take my hands and guide me to the bathroom so I can wash my eyes."
I smiled, took his hand, led him to the bathroom, and helped him wash his eyes out.
While he was wiping them after, we spoke a little more about how he felt.
"So how was it to be 'blind' for a little while?", I asked.
"I was scared I would bump into things....I had to feel around with one hand.....and I also had to trust you.....that you would take care," he said as he ran off to continue watching his DVD....
And I drifted off into thoughts down memory lane....when we carefully thought out ideas for helping people experience how it felt to be disabled....trust is such an important part of any interaction.....and I reminisced fondly about walking along everywhere with my friend who was blind ....hand-in-hand.... the ease with which we moved, almost like one body.....there was hardly any need for words to guide...it was a whole body experience....a dance.....where I would lead sometimes with a squeeze, a brush or a gentle, flowing movement of my hand, and she would lead at other times with a faint pull or a pause or a different manner of touching....it was a beautiful way to be....
Trust is the silence between notes that threads them into a song.
Trust is the space between steps that weaves them into a dance.
"Amma, come quick.....you need to guide me to the bathroom!"
I popped out of the kitchen to see what had happened, and saw him squinting, closing both eyes and his hands outstretched.
"What happened? Did you put your hands in your eyes?", I asked.
"Yes...I forgot that I hadn't washed my hands," he whimpered. "Please...you have to take my hands and guide me to the bathroom so I can wash my eyes."
I smiled, took his hand, led him to the bathroom, and helped him wash his eyes out.
While he was wiping them after, we spoke a little more about how he felt.
"So how was it to be 'blind' for a little while?", I asked.
"I was scared I would bump into things....I had to feel around with one hand.....and I also had to trust you.....that you would take care," he said as he ran off to continue watching his DVD....
And I drifted off into thoughts down memory lane....when we carefully thought out ideas for helping people experience how it felt to be disabled....trust is such an important part of any interaction.....and I reminisced fondly about walking along everywhere with my friend who was blind ....hand-in-hand.... the ease with which we moved, almost like one body.....there was hardly any need for words to guide...it was a whole body experience....a dance.....where I would lead sometimes with a squeeze, a brush or a gentle, flowing movement of my hand, and she would lead at other times with a faint pull or a pause or a different manner of touching....it was a beautiful way to be....
Trust is the silence between notes that threads them into a song.
Trust is the space between steps that weaves them into a dance.
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