At the Gateway to Blindness

Never Say Never to Ambitious Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 11:10:00 +0000

’We must be willing to relinquish the life we've planned,

so as to have the life that is waiting for us.’

Joseph Campbell

Have you noticed the moment you try to take a detour around something, you end up going places you never dreamed of? Sometimes it brings you to wonderful experiences where the unexpected is your reward.

What happened here recently was that I tried to gently nudge my readers away from this Gateway to follow a trail of inspired new posts on my website.

Intrepid blog followers are welcome to hear my FIRST story transformed into an audio narrative, Many Different Hats - link below

But I learned that readers were still enjoying the many posts here when I received an invitation from the Lighthouse Foundation for the Blind (California).

One of their staff had visited the Gateway and wanted to share the news of their recent announcement about an amazing new series of prizes aimed at changing perceptions about what blind people are capable of doing in their community.

If, like me, you can answer their first question, ‘What would you do with $25,000 to make your most ambitious dream a reality’ (Sorry, sighted people need not apply), and if you can put together a 90-second video application, then you might be interested to see how this initiative by the Lighthouse is supporting blind adventurers worldwide in pursuing their most ambitious projects yet.

LightHouse Announces the Holman Prize for Blind Ambition

One of the first blind entrepreneurs who circumnavigated the globe in 1832 was an Englishman called James Holman. Widely known as ‘the blind traveller’, Holman’s adventures earned him great respect for successfully undertaking a series of solo journeys across the globe – totally blind!

In honour of his accomplishment, the Lighthouse are offering the Holman Prize to celebrate innovative people who want to shape their own future by sparking ambitious dreams of their own.

“LightHouse’s initial 2017 prizes will provide financial backing for as many as three individuals to explore the world and push their limits through travel, connections, construction and communication.”

Does this sound like you?

Head over to the Lighthouse Foundation before 28 February 2017 to enter the first round of applications (via the creation of a YouTube video).

May the spirit of adventure continue to capture your heart and don’t forget to dream big, always! From audio to ambitious dreams, anything is possible in 2017.

LINKS:

The LighthouseFoundation Holman Prize

BOOK: A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History’s Greatest Traveler

by Jason Roberts

Listen to my Audio Story: Many Different Hats

A New Adventure with Vision

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 03:22:00 +0000

Vision isn’t enough unless combined with venture –It’s not enough to stare up the steps Unless we also step up the stairs.Vance Hayner

Gateway Readers – I have exciting news!

You may have thought I’ve been a little absent on the blogging front but to the contrary – I’ve been creating exciting new possibilities behind the scenes (with the maestro, Harry) that

I can share with you now.

There is a brand new portal where you can venture to and be kept up to date with ALL my articles, blog posts and words of advice – on mastering the ART of being blind and on the craft of writing.

I am grateful to my friend and designer, Bee Williamson who helped me to set up this blog with its many articles that llaunched my writing career back in 2011...and now we have come to the edge to a new horizon where I offer my hand of friendship to continue the journey together.

Come Follow

When you subscribe to maribelsteel.com

You will find an ever growing collection of:

AUDIO stories & VIDEO clips
‘How to’ posts for people who are new to vision loss
Memoir stories on being vision-impaired, writing and other heartfelt anecdotes
Travel Stories
Writing Tips – links and strategies on the theme of being a writer with your creative muse
And much more as we get crafting...

So...are you ready to step up the stairs with me in 2017?

Come on over to Maribelsteel.com and take a look around.

If you like what we have to offer, I warmly invite you to subscribe today!

Let’s give my webmaster a real surprise by endorsing his work too!

My appreciation for your continued readership, see you at the ‘new gateway’

Maribel xox

It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. Kojiro Tomita

I Need To Learn Braille Better

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 00:45:00 +0000

Dear Gateway readers, it gives me great pleasure to share the following account by my writer friend and RP colleague, Jeff Floddin who is based in Chicargo.

Even though we have only met across Cyberspace, one lovely gift that RP has brought into my life at least, is the sharing of our stories: the good, the bad and the sometimes outrageously funny incidents that can catch us off guard with having such an eye condition.

Jeff’s reflections of how he adapts to losing his eyesight are like little gems of wisdom: his stories often move me and catch me off guard too. As we approach April 1^st, I couldn’t think of a more fitting (and true) story that is bound to tickle your funny bone!.

We get on the elevator, Sherlock and me. Sherlock is my guide dog.

We’re at the third floor of five. We want to go down to the first floor.

The door slides shut. Nothing happens.

I press the bottom button. The door slides open.

“I need to learn Braille better,” I tell Sherlock.

I run my fingertips along the wall. I think I find the Braille for number 1.

I press the button next to it. The elevator goes up.

“I need to learn Braille better,” I tell Sherlock.

I stand tall and the buttons sit low. It’s hard to read Braille with my finger upside down, so I drop to all fours. Sherlock thinks it’s playtime.

He puts his elbows on my back and stands on his hind legs.

Then, God bless him, he begins to hump me. He has assumed the Southwestern Sidewinder position.

While I’m thinking how I need to learn Braille better, I say to Sherlock, “Get off my back.”

The elevator stops and the door opens.

A woman gasps. I crawl forward. She steps backward.

I ask, “Can you help me?”

But I hear her heels run away from me, down the hallway.

The door closes. Sherlock dismounts

I press another button. The alarm sounds. I press the button above that one.

The elevator goes down. “This is security,” booms a big voice from a small speaker. “What is your problem?”

I scramble to my feet, stand tall, remain mute and pat Sherlock’s head.

The door opens. We’re at the first floor.

I command, “Sherlock, forward!”

The crowd parts. We stride across the marble floor. We project nonchalance.

I can tell what the people are thinking.

They’re thinking, “Look at that self-assured blind man and his well-trained guide dog.”

“This is security.” That voice again.

We keep walking. The voice gets far away. “What is your problem?”

“Problem?” I ask Sherlock.

“What problem? I just need to learn Braille better, that’s all.”

NOTE: Sherlock was Jeff’s Seeing Eye dog from 2003 to 2010. A version of this story was published in Kaleidoscope magazine in 2012.

It also appeared on Jalapeños in the Oatmeal: Digesting Vision Loss by Jeff Flodin (March 16 2016).

About Jeff Floddin:

Jeff was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at age 35. His vision loss did not prevent him from moving around the country as he has lived in Rockford, Tempe, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Jeff received his Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Lake Forest College. He then earned a Master’s degree in social work from Arizona State University. He worked in the social work field for 25 years.

Jeff wrote his first story in first grade and writing has been his primary vocation for ten years. He is currently working on a short story collection about vision loss. Jeff has completed two books, as of yet unpublished. His stories have appeared in “The Rockford Review” and his letters in “ChicagoTribune.”

Read more of Jeff’s stories at:https://jalapenosintheoatmeal.wordpress.com/

What You Can Do with Time & Under Pressure

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 10:34:00 +0000

“God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls and coal into diamonds

using time and pressure. He’s working on you, too!”

Rick Warren

Over the past few months, I have seen what I am capable of achieving with time and under pressure, some would call this working to a strict deadline.

My dear Gateway blog has taken a back seat as I have been furiously pumping out another 20 articles for the blindness.about.com site!

So…for those who might like an update, here are the 7 most popular posts to date.

7: Transform a White Cane into Your Wand of Power

6: How to Blast 5 More Myths about Being Blind

5: Why Going Blind is not Losing Sight of Your Future

4: How Visually-impaired Moms Look after Their Kiddies

3: 6 C-Words which Enhance Life with Low Vision

2: Use these 2 Super-Senses to Transform Disability into Possibility

1: Why You Need to Know the Truth about Blindness

And…there is one more bonus I just have to share with you.

A community event I designed that took place on November 8^th 2015 called

Vision-quest Melbourne

Click on the link above to see all the magic of this awesome day.

Who knows, we could be coming to a city near you too!

Would be great to know what you have been doing with time and under pressure too…please leave your comments!

My deep thanks to my partner and tech wizard Harry Williamson, for film footage and for his tireless energy to produce our Youtube clip.

Something Happened on the Way to My Future

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sun, 13 Sep 2015 02:11:00 +0000

“The best dreams happen when you’re awake.”
Cherie Gilderbloom

There has been a little less activity here at the Gateway over the past couple of months – and would you like to know why?
Something happened on the way to my future!

Over the past fifteen months or so, I’ve been writing posts as a peer advisor for VisionAware, a branch of the American Foundation for the Blind, and loving it. With a wonderful group of peers, we contribute helpful articles on many topics relating to living with being blind or visually-impaired.

So there I was, typing away on one of my posts when, I received an amazing invitation in an email from New York!

A recruitment scout from About.com – a Top ranking online network website was in the first phase of their redesign effort and this person was asking me to come aboard to write for them on the topic of vision loss.

At first, I had to reread the email three times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and the offer was legitimate and not a spam letter. Then when I realised it was a genuine offer and a brilliant opportunity to expand my skills as a writer – I got straight down to writing up a list of articles I could offer (after doing a merry-dance all around the house with joy!).

Many More Posts per Month

Having begun in August, I am writing 6 posts per month on the NEW network, blindness.about.com, so I’ll be sharing the links here to recent articles as well as some of my pieces for VisionAware.

Gateway readers, it is my delight to share with you the first batch of posts…

How to See Blindness as a Word and Not a Sentence

Taking Charge as CEO of Your Life

5 Ways to Avoid Daily Chaos

How to Create a Successful Double Act with a Sighted Assistant

How Do You Cook for Your Family when You Can’t See

Cooking is a Sensory Affair

And for those who would like to celebrate our loyal guide dogs, head over to VisionAware to read my tribute to Run Melbourne: a Walk in the Park with our Guide Dogs

Thanks all – do write a comment here if you have a topic you would like to see covered in upcoming posts…go well, flow well…may something wonderful happen on the way to your future too…

“When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life.” Eckhart Tolle

My heartfelt thanks to my partner who has taken on the complexities of being the web-master behind the scenes to deal patiently with tasks required to make all this possible

– Harry Williamson, please stand up and take a bow, you’re a legend!

Treasure the Art of Being Blind

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Thu, 21 May 2015 10:52:00 +0000

Do you sometimes get lost or frustrated hunting down articles of interest when visiting a blog? I sure do. I am aware my blog is not the easiest one to navigate around due to my lack of vision in setting it up with tabs and categories, social shares and friendly comment boxes.

So, to avoid any frustration you may experience at the Gateway, I have dug up some of the little treasures hidden within 200 pages on this blog and have placed links to each one in today’s post.

If you are new to the Gateway, or if you are a subscriber, here are my 15 most popular posts as a quick reference map to read more on ‘the ART of being blind’.

1: 8-threads to weave into the garment of change

When I began to lose my eyesight, it was natural to fear losing so many other aspects of my life that I treasured. The hardest hurdle to overcome was knowing how to weave positive threads into the garment with the label of disabled firmly secured to the fabric of my life.

2: Many Different Hats

My mother hat is swiftly replaced with a survival hat to help me cross the six-lane highway with its heavy traffic using my white cane as my trusted guide. I listen intently with complete focus and concentration – not one other thought crosses my mind except “Stay safe”.

3: 5 key ways blind people do it better

It’s true! Anything sighted people can do, visually-impaired or blind people can do it better. Be warned, we know our limitations and we’ve adapted to this blind-challenge. Being blind brings a new spin on life. When you accept the ride, you actually find many ways in which to excel.

4: What colour is that?

For as long as there are some shades in the colour spectrum to discern, my brain will offer logical deductions to help make sense of the blurry world all around. But when the object is too far away or impossible to see because of faulty light- sensitive cells at the back of my scarred retinas, my brain asks: ‘Eyes, please be more specific, I have no idea what that is!’

5: Benefit #1 being blind: you are the rose among the thorns

There IS a better way to take hold of this thing they call blindness. When we choose to look for the symbolic rose among the thorns, life takes on a new perspective.

6: Insight through sound

Imagine a spider in her well spun web who becomes acutely aware with her sensitive receptors when an accidental intruder bounces onto the invisible threads guarding her territory. I too receive information from the ‘vibes’ bouncing towards me, partly through hearing and partly by trust and intuition.

7: It’s touching to see the world

As I stand at the gateway facing the ever-diminishing sense of sight, my view of the world would be dim indeed, if my hands were bound together, and never allowed to reach out and touch what my eyes fail to see.

8: Tools of the blind-tradie

Among my collection of tools are four qualities that I recommend to any person embarking on the profession of blind artisan. No matter what the obstacle ahead, I can guarantee from personal experience four attributes that will help you meet any challenge – and come out smiling.

9: A license to laugh

Humour is a tool that has the capacity to open the heart and unlock the gift of laughter to any soul seeking the truth. Seeing the ‘funny’ side of life when it could also be seen as ‘tragic’ is a tool worth its weight in gold.

10: To braille or not to braille: that was my question

Sometimes, my mother sat by my side and coloured in parts of my school work that I was struggling to see. She added her artistic flair to brighten up the pages of my books as well as lighten our hearts. But then came the Question I had been dreading, to braille or not to braille.

11: Blind Sherlock and Dr Memory

As sight fades, I am aware of how much I am gathering clues from listening, touching, smelling, tasting, feeling and observing as best my eyes can but above all, there is one undeniable device working over time in helping me to adapt to change.

12: The scent lingers on International Women’s Day

13: Why be fashionable if you can’t see?

Choosing one’s clothing is a matter of FEELING first, then seeing how it all fits together. When you feel good in what you wear, you will look great. Feeling textures of clothing is not always because I want to buy it but is a curious desire on my part to see the choices at my fingertips.

14: Writing Blind: how blind people manage to write

As a visually-impaired writer I compose stories, store documents to folders, read and send emails, create posts for blogs and surf the internet – all without being able to see the screen on my laptop. Come and meet my verbose parot, and see how we work together…

15: Mastering Blindness: Radio Australia Interview

if you want a front row seat, sit back and listen to the conversation where I speak with the charming Phil Kafcaloudes, presenter of a popular morning breakfast show on Radio Australia. We talk candidly on ‘ Mastering the daily challenges of living with blindness and journey back in time to explain how it all began with the diagnosis in my teen years.

Got any of your favourite stories to share? Please leave your comment here…

How We Can Be as Wise as a Child

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sun, 03 May 2015 08:57:00 +0000

“Tarry a moment to watch the chaos of a playground,

crayola-colored shirts of running children, all trying out their wings.” Sun Wolf

Have you noticed how the little people in your life know the true meaning of living in the moment? If we take time out of our busy schedule to stop and observe their play, we will see how their chaotic activity is actually a better strategy to making the most of life.

They experience everything as the present, being in tune with the gift of time.

My three-year-old grand-daughter surprised me one day when we were spending a few days together. Silver delights in going to the café to eat cake and have her own cup of bubbachino – so off we went, with her mother too, and it was this outing that really taught me the meaning of time.

Making light and letting go

It was during our four day holiday on the sunny shores of Queensland where I met up with my daughter Claire and her little Silver. I had forgotten how being with a small child can be both laboriously slow and athletically fast. They can be happy one moment, demanding the next. It’s a life of swinging contrasts that move by the second, not by the hour.

Being with a small child challenges your energy level and mind, challenges your patience yet brings incredible joy.

I noticed that Silver’s day consists in appreciating minute by minute distractions but in allowing herself the

freedom to explore the newness of everything, she is being fully present to the activity of the moment.

Claire and I often found ourselves laughing at the way our plans were diverted to following Silver’s non-planned agenda. She stopped to admire what seemed to us to be every bug and leaf on the pavement: completely living in the moment, one by one by one.

When we decided to let go of controlling the time it was taking to walk to the café, our annoyance shifted to one of acceptance and in making light of being led by our cheerful toddler, we could relax into the moments with her too.

Swing into the moment

When we finally arrived at the café, I decided to be on holiday too and watch Silver play.

I noticed her mother swiftly remove any breakables from the top of the table and produce a soft toy to distract Silver while we placed our order.

Silver sat looking, with wide-eyes observing everything in the world around her at each moment. She pointed at the noisy bus passing by the window, then squealed with delight seeing a cheeky pigeon pecking at a doughnut on the pavement and then quickly swung around in her seat to contemplate what she might do next with the leftover piece of banana in her hand.

Her happiness was pure and simple. In that moment, I saw the gift of time as she did.

Her joy is in the small detail of experiencing life.

Like all children, Silver is never ahead of herself, she is always with herself in every single second of her day and lives life to the full. She is not planning what she and her mummy are doing in ten minutes time. She’s seeing the plane flying high in the sky or knocking over the ice cubes in her drink, throwing herself down on the floor with bitter disappointment for her spilt drink followed by a swift pick-me-up cuddle!

It’s a rollercoaster ride with a young child…swing right up there in a burst of laughter, dive down there in the pit of despair. Children take us on this ride of our lives too – to experience every moment as it happens without judging it as good or bad: it just is!

"Love children especially. They live to soften and purify hearts

and, as it were, to guide us.” Fyodor Dostoevsky

Obviously

we can’t behave like young children in every moment of our day. But we can stop to give ourselves the precious gift of time when life is getting way ahead of us.

Whatever life-challenge or stress you may face, remember that it is taking time-out to proceed step by step that will bring you joy in the moment. Let go of your plans every now and then and discover the healing gift of time!

Let your joy be in the small detail of experiencing life as it unfolds, one amazingly beautiful moment at a time.

In loving memory of my mother Piluca, who's love of children is especially remember today on her earth-birthday... and felt every moment in my life as my heavenly-angel xxx

you might also like to read

Love and Kindness

Lladro - Language of the Heart

Copyright © Maribel Steel 2015

Are You like a Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee Bean?

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 14:39:00 +0000

“One mother teaches more than a hundred teachers.” Proverb

When you come across the words of another writer who touches your heart by the words they write, it is natural that you want to share their story with your friends. Today, I am doing just this – and by the time you have read the following words of wisdom, I hope you gain a different perspective on that next delicious brew of aromatic beans…

A Carrot, an Egg and a Cup of Coffee

by Frances Ship

A young woman went to her mother and told her how hard things were for her. She didn’t know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second, she placed eggs, and in the last, she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. Twenty minutes later, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in yet another bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.

The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this — which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, breakup, financial hardship or some other trial, did I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, yet on the inside am I bitter and tough, with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or, am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean…

My heartfelt thanks to Jena Fellers, for posting the above article on her brand new blog. Please do visit her site for many more insights,

Changing Focus ...Helps when life's problems cause you to lose your sight

You may also like to read:

Love is Blind – the Tale of Two Horses (Sept 2013)

Love and Kindness (April 2013)

Photos Copyright © Harry Williamson 2015

5 Key Ways Blind People Do It Better

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 12:47:00 +0000

“Master yourself, and become king of the world around you.
Never be a victim of life; be its conqueror.” Mike Norton

It’s true! Anything sighted people can do, visually-impaired or blind people can do it better! Don’t believe me? This photo was taken of me zipping around an actual race track with other blind drivers in Melbourne – have you been there, done that yet?

I’ll admit, I don’t drive a normal boring car – the tech guys are working on it though, I’m imagining the driverless car will be available for blind people soon. What a hoot!

Yes, be warned, we know our limitations and we’ve adapted to this blind-challenge.

Being blind brings a new spin on life. When you accept the ride, you actually find many ways in which to excel, exciting ways in which you can put your ‘foot to the pedal’ and enjoy life to the full. Come and take a back seat and allow us to show YOU the way for a change.

I’m raring to show you five keys to help you navigate through the racetrack of life.

Get ready…set…GO!

Key 1: blind people are experts in decision making

We know how to cut down on too many choices and make a decision to save mental energy.

According to research, we all have a limited amount of brain power available to us every day. The more decisions we have to make, the weaker our ability to decide on many aspects of our day. And we can suffer from brain-fatigue too.

The simple act of having to choose between too many options can lead to overload.

When I read this, it became clear to me why as a visually-impaired person, I like to ‘cut to the chase’ and focus on realistic options when I am with sighted people because it allows me to reserve my thinking-battery and be more effective with brain-energy for those other important decisions.

The mere action of getting around is taking up most of my brain and sensory cells in decision making, to stay safe, to negotiate around obstacles, to listen out for sudden changes as I tread carefully around my neighbourhood or for example in the supermarket. My shopping list says ‘orange juice’. Please don’t tell me the other fifty shades of orange – I am really content with my original choice of orange juice.

Making a firm decision once we know our options is also liberating for our sighted helpers: we have freed you from feeling overwhelmed by having to tell us every detail in front of your eyes. Let’s keep the wires clear to our thought process and enjoy the decisions we make with confidence.

Key 2: blind people are natural problem solvers

Every single day, we are confronted by tasks which would be easier if we could see but our eyes have gone on a long vacation without us so what can we do? We can adapt to seeing the task differently.

Watch how your visually-impaired or blind friend finds creative solutions that meet the task requirement by being resourceful rather than resentful, and good-humoured instead of bad tempered.

We problem solve and avoid frustration by looking for alternative methods to achieve a visual task.

Getting from point A to point B without sight requires practiced skills in problem solving, being tenacious,persistent and open to creative solutions.

Asking a blind person directions is not as silly as it sounds because we have already mapped out the route…going my way?

Key 3: blind people are natural observers

Gathering detail about our environment is not only in the seeing, it is in the feeling, in the knowing, in the observing of tiny details the eyes can miss because they can’t see for looking. Close your eyes and what happens? Your entire body becomes alert to subtle sensory observation.

We are expert detail detectors because we take notice from a variety of sensory skills.

Our ears hear you, our heart feels for genuine communication or awkward silences, our body alerts us to physical changes, our hands hold a picture of life and our intuition has a clear line to a deep knowing that guides us.

Close your busy-body eyes in a café or any other place as an experiment and see how well you begin to observe so much more. Leave your visual prejudice in the dark and open up to the full experience of observing life differently. We actually do see more in the dark than you realise.

Key 4: blind people are awesome time managers

Dali - the persistence of memory - tapestry by j cinquin

You know the saying, ‘if you want to get a job done, ask a busy person?

This is because they know how to manage the task within realistic time constraints and boy, have we had our share of adapting to visual restrictions.

Losing the ability to see means people who are visually-impaired or blind take much more notice of the time it takes to achieve their tasks.

We have to be realistic in setting our goals and pace ourselves.

Time checks are a regular part of our day: as in preparing for an outing, a meeting, a deadline, cooking for our family, organising our children for school.

We have learned the essential skill of keeping time so we can saunter through our task with good old Father Time.

He’s got all the time in the world for each one of us – so take his hand, the minute one or the hour one and be realistic when setting deadlines.

Notice the grace and skill of the blind person who manages time wisely and you too can enjoy the time of your life – every second of it!

Key 5: blind people are ambassadors for living life to the full

You may not think it possible to rediscover the joy in life when you are losing more of your sight or when you have to face the frightening reality of impending blindness. Your life is never going to be the same, it is true, but it’s going to be different, not necessarily worse.

People who are visually-impaired or blind wake up every morning alongside their sighted loved ones with the same desires: to be happy, to be fulfilled, to be at peace, to feel a sense of belonging, to want to contribute to our families wellbeing, to feel safe and secure emotionally and physically, to take our place in the world, so why would anyone see the one weak part of their life as the whole part of who they are?

I won’t deny it has taken many bumps and bruises to my ego and much effort and soul-searching to understand this ‘blind-life’ but what I have discovered is a real treasure: being blind doesn’t stop anyone from enjoying a fulfilled life.

It’s the choice and decisions we take that can keep us striding onwards like ambassadors for life. Come take our hand and the blind will show you the way to find courage and how to keep your face to the sun even on a cloudy day.

After all, it’s the life we were born to live, so we might as well make it the best one we can…

There you have five ways to see how blind people do it better. I have more in draft but for now, we’d love to hear other key ways from your own experiences…

Copyright © Maribel Steel 2015

Photos Copyright © Harry Williamson

Seeing a Brighter Future

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 14:23:00 +0000

“As we rise to meet the challenges that are a natural part of living

we awaken to our many undiscovered gifts, to our inner power and our purpose.”

Susan L. Taylor

My journey as a writer and inspirational speaker has brought me to a wonderful NEW opportunity! To give more presentations this year.

To give some of you more of an introduction to my life’s journey, this post is an excerpt of an interview I was invited to do with the editor of Exceptions Journal | The Art & Literary Journal for Students with Visual Disabilities in the USA.

How did you get to where you are today?

In a nutshell – with a determined heart, a resourceful way of thinking and with tenacity of spirit. My father likes to say I’m stubborn but I don’t agree and won’t hear of it!

My aspiration to become an artist emerged around the age of tenand my parents encouraged me to pursue my deep appreciation of drawing, especially my Spanish mother who had many talents in the creative arts.

My English father was a lecturer and researcher in ‘Romance Languages’ at University and on some Sunday afternoons, I pestered him until he agreed to take me to the empty university as my heart was fixed on one mission: to draw in the private classroom with coloured chalk on the wide blackboard.

But a few years later, I was struggling to see anything on the blackboard at all. An alarming inability to see my school work at fifteen, led to a serious investigation and countless tedious tests. It took the skill of fifteen Opthalmologists and other specialists to deliver the definitive diagnosis. I had an incurable eye condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and was pensioned off as legally blind.

How do you think this has affected your experience of life ?

I do remember a defiant spirit rise within my young heart that I would take the obstacle of vision loss as a challenge, and not view my life as limited.

I have learned through this experience that often it is my attitude that will bring me victory or defeat in what I am trying to attain. Instead of saying what I can’t do, I look for realistic ways to reach my goals. Sometimes this might be on my own and at other times it involves seeking assistance from others.

I have learned a beautiful truth that to ask for help when you really could use a sighted person’s eyes is not a sign of weakness but actually gives both of you a wonderful opportunity to interact and to achieve together – the classic win-win situation.

What have been the most important resources for you in adapting to vision loss?

My personal philosophy is that there is an ART in being blind.

Life is about developing our skills in whatever career or hobby we choose to master. The only difference with losing sight, is that we didn’t choose this ‘vocation’.

Obviously, as the organ of sight weakens, we are forced to rely on our other senses. Apart from these sensitivities, three personal qualities that have proven to be powerful resources in my life are attitude, intuition and memory.

I have found trusting my intuition to guide me when sight cannot, and improving my ability to remember the smallest of detail, to be the two best friends of attitude.

What do you write about?

My writing is mainly nonfiction, memoir type stories where I reflect on many aspects as a person facing the gateway to blindness.

Ideas jostle to be written and, like children, I have to ask them to kindly wait their turn.

On good writing days, inspiration flows and often situations that occur as I travel or the funny things people say end up being my published stories.

But on those very difficult days, I can feel like I’m stuck in a sand bunker slogging out words that won’t lift out of the sandpit of this writer’s despair.

I have learned, as in life in general, to let it go, take a break and come back later.

“The first draft reveals the art, revision reveals the artist.” Michael Lee

What role do you think storytelling plays in our human experience?

When we open to the sharing of our personal stories, we feel the connectedness with others. Every single person has a challenge in their lives and they will be confronted to face it at some point.

It may be a health issue, the diagnosis of pending blindness, a mental illness, a relationship incompatibility, a financial concern, a family crisis – we have been enrolled in the school of life, and when we find others in our similar situation, it is like opening a window to a heart-warming realisation: we are not alone.

Cradled at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania

To read the in depth interview please visit Exceptions Journal:
exceptionsjournal.com/2014/05/09/interview-with-maribel-steel/

Over to you now, please share how you have met your own challenges along the journey to a brighter future, we’d love to hear YOUR story…

You might also like to read…

Benefit #1 Being Blind: you are the rose among the thorns

8-Threads to weave into the garment of change

3 Easy Ways to hopscotch into your dreams

© 2015 Maribel Steel

15 Effective Ways to Get on the Right Track

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 11:45:00 +0000

‘Keep in mind that, even if you are on the right track,

you can still be left behind if you just sit there. Anon

For those of you who may be feeling overwhelmed with the new year already taking off without you having made your plans and resolutions yet, be reassured: you are not alone.

By mid January of each year, I have usually drafted up an elaborate ‘to do’ list of realistic goals and am chomping on the writing bit to get started, to get on track and get moving after the hectic Festive Season of the previous year. But this time, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by all the different directions I could choose to explore, the creative projects I could revisit that didn’t get done last year or new ideas to nurture into fruition. Yet all the while, the year is moving on and I am still sitting here, reflecting, thinking, pondering options and possibilities… when suddenly I realise this is the phase before progress.

YAY – it’s OK to just BE for a while without the DOING!

Do you feel the same?

While I reflect and intuit my next step in 2015, may I share with you the words of successful writers and deep thinkers who may help us in turn to jump aboard the New Year!

Love of words – my first cuddles with quotations

I first became aware of the magic behind a poignant quotation when I was a teenager. The wisdom captured within these gems written by others seduced and engaged my thinking: caressing my thoughts and enlivening my imagination.

I had been diagnosed with an incurable eye disease and was facing the prospect of going blind. Quotes became a lifeline to positive thinking and I began to cuddle and collect them like dear friends. The ability to read long texts in my books was an arduous task but short quotations were easy to read and to remember.

I combed through books with the aid of a magnifying glass and kept a private collection in my diary. The power within each quotation often transported my thoughts over the hurdles of doubt and helped to lift my attitude out of a negative perspective to a positive vantage point.

As a writer living within a sensory world, the gift of blindness often opens my mind to a different perspective. Here are some ‘magical’ quotes that have enhanced my positive attitude towards facing a major life challenge.

Try them, lean on them like friends for a while, and see what happens for you. Allow their wisdom to lighten your heart and pretty soon you will feel a positive shift, your confidence lift and your thoughts soar with new possibilities… until you are refreshed and invigorated and inspired to move forward again.

15 Quotations

1. 'When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.’

~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

2. 'Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.’

~ Albert Einstein

3. ’We must be willing to relinquish the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.’

~ Joseph Campbell

4. 'Do just once what others say you can’t do and you will never listen to their limitations again.’ ~ Anon

5. 'People of character find a special attraction in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that they can realize their potentialities.’

~ Charles De Gaulle

6. 'All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.’

~ Havelock Ellis

7. 'Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.’

~ Raymond Lindquist

8. 'Use this day to do something daring, extraordinary and unlike yourself. Take a chance and shape a different pattern in your personal cloud of probability.’

~ Vera Nazarian

9. 'Getting it "perfect" is not an act of artisanship, because the true artisan remains in a state of perfecting.’

~ Sina Mossayeb

10. 'There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.’

~ Anaïs Nin

11. 'Hold on to your dreams, for tenacity is the force that will anchor your visions, to create a reality that once seemed impossible.’

~ Barb Mayer

12. 'When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.’

~ Patanjali

13. 'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.’

~ Helen Keller

14. 'If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible.’ ~ Soren Kierkegaard

15. 'Perhaps someday you will be thankful for some temporary failure in a particular direction. When one door closes, another always opens: as a natural law it has to. To balance.’

~ Brian Adams

How a quote a day can change your life

In 1998, a college student began sharing one enriching quote a day with his friends. Today, his website, Daily Good shares positive and uplifting news around the world to more than 100,000 subscribers...

LINK for 'Daily Good': http://www.dailygood.org/

*

Do you collect words of wisdom too? Please share them with us in the comment box, we’d love to hear how words move and empower your world too!

You might also like to read:

Being Blind is the Obstacle and the Stepping Stone (Jan 2014)
Tools of the Blind Tradie May 2013
Benefit #1 Being Blind: You are the Rose among the Thorns (March 2014)

Introduction Copyright © Maribel Steel 2015
Photographs Copyright © Harry Williamson 2015

Forever Stella Young

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 00:51:00 +0000

“I will do everything I can to meet you, eighty-year-old Stell. By the time I get to you, I will have loved with every tiny little bit of my heart and soul…By the time I get to you, I'll have written things that change the way people think about disability. I'll have been part of a strong, beautiful, proud movement of disabled people in Australia.”

Stella Young (1982-2014)

Stella Young wrote a letter to her eighty-year-old self – but the charismatic old lady will never get to read it – it is for our eyes only…dear Stella died two weeks ago, aged thirty-two.

At her colourful Memorial service today, I felt her strong, beautiful, proud and passionate spirit move through the crowd as thousands of people gathered in the Melbourne Town Hall to celebrate her life. Stella is remembered for her dynamic wit, her direct honesty, her strength to speak her truth and her warm and generous heart for her family, friends and community.

Wherever Stella went you were sure to notice her presence – she was a dynamo on wheels, a force to be reckoned with and a woman who was easy to admire but her challenges didn’t come easy…

Born with a condition known as Teogenesis Imperfecta, a genetic disorder that causes bones to break easily, Stella’s feisty and passionate nature to enjoy life with the same expectations as any normal human being put her at the forefront of advocating for the disabled community in Australia.

Leaving home at seventeen to study journalism at Deakin University, Melbourne, Stella became a member of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council, the Ministerial Advisory Council for the Department of Victorian Communities, the Youth Disability Advocacy Service, and Women with Disabilities Victoria.

Her public profile brought Stella into our lounge rooms when she was invited to host eight seasons of Australia's first disability culture program, called No Limits where her mischievous humour carried a punch line like no other!

Stella was an award winning comedian, writer, activist and former editor of ABC Ramp Up.

But in today’s moving memorial service she was a beloved daughter, sister, mentor and friend, a cherished woman in our community reminding us in her passing to never give up feeling proud of who we are, never give up the pledge to make life a better place for having been apart of her dreams and her legacy….

“By the time I get to you, I'll be so proud. The late Laura Hershey once wrote about disability pride, and how hard it is to achieve in a world that teaches us shame. She said, 'You get proud by practising'. Thanks to my family, my friends, my crip comrades and my community, I'm already really proud. But I promise to keep practising, every day.”

The above is an edited excerpt from Women of Letters, by Michaela McGuire & Marieke Hardy. Published by Penguin Books Australia

Stella Young

Our dear Stella – you are a true star! God bless – and I pray you have told the good Lord to replace the stairway to heaven with a decent ramp up for those following your lead…!

Read a fuller excerpt of Stella Young’s letter to her eighty-year old self at:

http://disabilitythinking.blogspot.com/2014/12/stella-youngs-letters.html

And be captured by her charm at

Ted Talk "Im not your inspiration"

*

“We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity.

We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion.”

Max de Pree

Why be Fashionable if You Can’t See

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 10:07:00 +0000

When I give presentations to interested groups on what it is like to be visually-impaired, I can guarantee one question will ALWAYS be asked at the end of my talk – “How do you know what you are wearing?” Women especially, are surprised that I can be colour-coordinated from top to toe. There is no great mystery involved, there is no other person dressing me in the morning. The simple answer is – choosing one’s clothing is a matter of FEELING first, then seeing how it all fits together. When you feel good in what you wear, you will look great!

The other reason why I love clothes shopping is because browsing with my hands is an exquisite experience. Feeling textures of clothing or gliding my hands over jewellery is not always because I want to buy it but is a curious desire on my part to see the choices at my fingertips.

Here are some fashion questions I was asked recently, so let’s take a closer look why being fashionable is not just about seeing, but about feeling. Oh, and a little warning too, the photos, well, yes, they were taken a few years ago, funny how one can think one is being fashionable at the time!

How important is fashion and style to you?

Fashion is fun and I enjoy feeling garments which allows me to visualise the world of ever changing trends. I think it’s a ‘girlie’ thing – taking delight in touching clothes, lingerie, shoes, dabbing on perfumes or smelling leather hand bags because it is highly enjoyable to ‘see’ what’s in fashion.

The other reason for my ever-readiness to touch the world around me is because it is not normally permitted in galleries or museums so when I am in a store or market place, it allows me to touch all sorts of objects I can’t see and by doing so, I feel less excluded from the visual world.

What sort of fabrics do you enjoy the most?

Soft fabrics, satin trims, things with buttons and bows. I also enjoy knitting and making luxurious scarves for friends as winter gifts. In summer, I look for soft undergarments and layer my outfits with flowing chiffon tops. Lingerie is another one of my touchy-feely delights – as it is worn close to the skin, I won’t compromise the feel of luxury by purchasing cheap underwear – it has to be soft and silky (including hosery).

I believe that when you begin the first layer of clothing feeling feminine, you will wear the dress with an upright back and carry an air of chic – like a proud Spanish Lipizzaner!

What are your considerations when choosing garments?

Apart from seeking comfort and prettiness of garment, even in casual wear, I am fussy about colour and design. When on my own, I take quite a while to scout out an item as I examine the texture carefully and the cut by feeling the collar, shape etc. I know what styles suit me by past experience and many times, a garment falls off the hanger as if to grab my attention and often, it is a good choice – could this be intuition helping? Then I quiz the shop assistant for the colour and price and if it passes these two questions, I will buy it.

Colours seem to have a certain ‘vibe’ for instance, as soon as I put grey near my face, my skin begins to feel drained. My favourite colours are strong and bold as in red, orange, colbalt blue, sunshine yellow and hot pink as these tones not only feel ‘right’ for me, I can see them in natural daylight.

At home, I hang clothing in groups so that matching items are placed together to be colour co-ordinated.

What shops do you frequent the most and why?

I enjoy being independent and setting my own pace as well as going out with friends to meander into the odd gift or fashion store. I often end up buying things because my girlfriends or partner point out items on special I wouldn’t have seen.

I go to the same clothing stores because it is easier to get around the shop without feeling overwhelmed. I visit the local stores where the shop keepers know me and are quick to offer help – even though it might be more expensive, the price of being looked after is well worth it.

But I do have to be in the right mood as it takes a lot of concentration to keep track of my movement around the store, to avoid prams and other obstacles. Sometimes the bumping from one object off another can feel like being inside a live pinball machine and if I can’t cope I will leave the store.

I particularly love feeling shoes! As I have no idea what people wear on their feet, a shoe shop is a lovely place to wander. I get to understand the different types of heels, shape of shoes and just adore this sort of shopping.

My partner, Harry, takes a particular delight in bringing objects closer into my reach and we often take time to enjoy the experience together (unless it is a cactus plant, which he has accidentally done on one occasion, misunderstanding my fondness for feeling flowers!

What challenges do you face when shopping?

On the whole, people are pretty helpful and understanding if I ask for assistance. A few pointers however, when a person is training to work in a department store or fashion counter, it would be extremely beneficial to know not to do the following - as the store assistant, don’t ask my friend, “Would she like this?” It is kinder to ask me personally.

Some of the main challenges are:

·        first is to locate the right shop and entrance, sometimes blaring music indicates a clothing store plus sense of smell helps me to sniff out the correct place

·        manoeuvring around a shop I have not been in before and avoiding the racks while keeping the cane tight in one hand, the other loose to stray over fabrics to give me some sort of clue as to what I am ‘looking’ for

·        main disadvantage is in not being able to see the size and price on tags, colour of garment

·        must be very careful that the clothing I am feeling is on a mannequin and not the clothing of another shopper!

·        have no idea where the ‘specials’ rack is unless I ask for assistance

·        indoor shopping centres are a nightmare to navigate through especially as there is a bombardment of clashing sound coming from all quarters that hinders my hearing and can be very stressful (so I tend to shop in places that I know or are on a street front)

·        a fashion item that is hard to choose on my own are sunglasses. Often whoever is with me will pick the style they like and then when I wear them, my family will comment “who helped you to buy those sunglasses?” which means – they wouldn’t have chosen them for me so needless to say, I have a few dead pairs in my drawer.

How important to you are the perceptions of others of you fashion wise?

I like to demonstrate that blind or vision-impaired women can enjoy being colour co-ordinated, wear smart and trendy gear with high heels and enjoy fashion just as much as our sighted friends do. People are often surprised to see me turn up at a function with matching jewellery, fashionable dress with lovely bag and jacket and I am surprised by their reaction – why wouldn’t a vision-impaired woman be dressed well?

I also have a passion for smelling fragrances at perfume counters and put my nose to the test to pinpoint individual scent molecules from cleverly concocted blends. The art of wearing fragrance – mmm, that’s another story…

If you want to be bold and beautiful, you can - let Stephanae (Steph) McCoy, the Blind Style Blogger show you how to strut your stuff at:

Bold Blind Beauty: Style Concepts for the Visually Impaired

AND, in the UK, Emily Davison speaks the language of fashion That Comes From the Heart and Soul at

Fashioneyesta: Bridging the Gap between Fashion and Sight

you might also like to read eight threads to weave into the garment of change

Copyright © Maribel Steel 2014

The Colour of Friendship – International White Cane Day

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 10:12:00 +0000

“Be thou the rainbow to the storms of life,
the evening beam that smiles the clouds away,
and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray!” Byron

When I recently felt shaken by the ‘storms of life’ after two unsuccessful applications to further my writing career, a group of friends rallied to offer words of kindness in such a supportive way that I was able to see beyond the disappointment, and felt carried to clearer skies on the wings of friendship.

These friends are a group of people I have never met yet they were able to lift me above my clouds of doubt to a sunnier outlook, bringing cheer to my heart to not give up my quest. How is this possible?

It is through our shared experience of blindness.

The group of peer advisors I belong to all share our stories, our reflections and advice on an American website called VisionAware. Led by the program manager, Pris Rogers, I was accepted into their group in May of this year – and ever since I feel I have found my tribe!

“From the colour spectrum, any pure hue and colour
can be combined with white, black or grey to produce a tonal family.” Anon

For me, the way in which we support and mentor each other as well as a wider community of readers to the Vision Aware website, and can genuinely understand the ups and downs that being blind or visually-impaired brings to our lives, has been uncanny. Sometimes my friends write articles I can relate to so closely that it is refreshing to hear such insights from the heart and mind of others.

Emails fly back and forth, full of admiration, empathy, understanding, laughter and shared experiences that keep us working together as a ‘merry band of peers’ writing posts that reflect so many of our varied interests and personal skills. The bond of friendship and camaraderie is strengthened through genuine thoughtfulness, carried on the invisible communication lines of the internet!

So in honour of International White Cane Day on October 15 2014, I’m sending out a huge thank you from my corner of the globe, hoping these rays of friendship come beaming towards all the people in the ‘blindness community’ who are helping each other as peers, mentors and ambassadors working together for a more Vision-Aware world!

Two other friendships that I am enjoying across the web of connectiveness are with Stella de Genova and Jeff Flodin, founders of Vision Through Words. Like me, they both have Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and actively support a community of blind and visually-impaired writers and poets as we share our stories through the creative arts.

In a recent post by Jeff, his witty portrayal of two elderly friends trying to help each other as their vision declines, is a heart warming story of true friendship. I thank him for allowing me to repost the story here – I’m smiling already!

Helpers

by Jeff Flodin

They call each other Al and Bert, these old men I know. Al sold cars, Bert sold insurance. On Wednesday nights, they went bowling; on Saturday mornings, they went fishing. They bonded, as men will.

Al and Bert were family men before the kids scattered, before Harriet got the cancer and Dottie just dwindled away.

Now Al and Bert live next door at Independence Village. They prowl the aisles at the Kroger store, resolute and clueless. Al, bent by “Arthur itis,” steers the grocery cart. Bert, lost in the blind spots of “macular,” pushes and follows.

“You’re pushing too hard, Bert.”
“I didn’t think I was pushing at all, Al.”
“Reach up there, Bert, and grab a box of Cheerios. No, not there. Over there.”
”Al, you gotta not say ‘over there.’ I got no clue where ‘over there’ is anymore. You gotta say ‘up, down, left, right.”

“Left then,” says Al. “No, I mean your other left. A little more. Little more. Up now. There you go.”
“Got it,” says Bert. “Big yellow box.”

“What’s next on your list there, Bert?”
“Here, you read it. I left my glasses at the home.”
“It’s not the glasses you’re needing, Bert. You’re blind as a bat.”
“Am not.”
“Are too,” says Al. “And this list. You got us back and forth all over the store.”
“I thought a list would help, Al. I was only trying to help.”
“But it’s got to be organized. Like an assembly line. I’m only trying to help here too, Bert.”
“Well, Al, you’re helping too much!”
“And you, Bert, you’re helping too little!”

They shuffle down the breakfast aisle, childish and childlike. “Jeez, Bert, I’ve never seen so damn many cereal boxes.

Used to be Grape Nuts was all you needed to get started in the morning.”

“Times change, Al, so I guess we oughta change too. Seeing as how it’s gonna take two of us, you be the hunter, Al, ‘cuz you can see things, and I’ll be the gatherer ‘cuz I can reach them.”

“You’re on, Bert. What’s next on your list here? Eggs. I’ll find them and you gather them. Cheese and milk are over with the eggs.”

“And chicken fingers, Al. Over with the eggs.”

“Chickens got no fingers, Bert. And you’re getting us off track again. We got to follow the system here.”

“I got the system, Al. Ice cream’s gotta be alongside milk.”

“Jeez, Bert, you’re a big help. Now reach over there and gather that carton of eggs. No, not that one, the one over there!”

Originally posted on Jalapeños in the Oatmeal

For further reading

For further reading, you can read many inspiring articles offering insight on VisionAware.

I highly recommend the personal story from one of the peers, Leanne Gibson, which is truly moving. In only a few months from being given the diagnosis that she is going blind, she has written to help assure us all that “a negative mind will never provide a positive life.”

Her story, “As I was sleeping” reveals Leanne’s life was about to change.. A war was raging inside my head. My brain had the knowledge of how the world was to look, but my eyes were incapable of sending the information.”

Copyright © Maribel Steel 2014
Photographs Copyright © Harry Williamson 2014

3-Easy-Steps to Hop Scotch into Your Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 13:40:00 +0000

'Dare to Dream' illustrated by gregory mackay

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.
Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” Gloria Steinem

Have you noticed how children have the ability to expect anything their hearts desire?

They dream big, persist with requests (which often involves nagging their parents to death), have the unshakeable belief their request is being attended to and sit back and wait for their dream toy, or other grand imaginings, to be delivered – and without too much delay!

They don’t stop for a moment to talk themselves out of their grand desires, even if as a parent, you point out, “Sorry, darling. We can’t afford it.” You can see their eyes glaze over with a defiant stare as thoughts tick louder in their warrior-like minds, and later, you are surprised to overhear them enrolling their grandparents into their plans.

You tell them off for continuing their crazy notions to achieve their impossible scheme.

But it works!

Next birthday and hey presto – their excitement is uncontainable. Not only did they manage to get what they wanted, they experienced something very special, another VICTORY!

Being blind is no different

What would it be like if as a person feeling limited by a lack of eyesight, we could adopt the same child’s innate ability to understand the law of attraction when reaching for our own goals? Well, here’s their secret formula…

Dream + plan = possibility.

Sounds too easy, right?

But as adults, somewhere in our growing up, we experienced the unthinkable – failure.

Our dreams were brought crashing to the ground and we became afraid to think big again, to reach for the stars, to launch another dream. The disappointment was so great, our mind took control of our heart and said, Trust me. You’re not doing that again.

In certain situations, this is great advice from the voice of reasoning, so you don’t make terrible mistakes over and over again. But your mind also likes to hold down your own dreams and has the canny ability to come up with dozens of excuses, in nano-seconds, why your heart’s desire can’t possibly come true. The booming voice of reason does its utmost to drown out your passions, creating an internal disquiet.

This is when the ‘fun’ begins

You have a CHOICE: you can either listen to reason, agree with the practical scenarios of why your desire is not going to happen, or you can be bold and hold on to your true feelings.

In my lifetime, especially as a visually-impaired person, I have seen how manifesting dreams to become a reality can work by following the same formula inherent in the child’s manifesto. It might be child’s-play to them but, boy, can it be hard work!

The three steps children play - try them!

Step 1. Your dream is believable.

Whatever it is you feel brave to dream, let the heart soar with the thought of potential.

Be like the child-warrior, knowing you want this is more real than knowing how to answer the doubting questions coming thick and fast. The warrior (not worry-er) believes with all their heart, and that is it. No asking how or what if; it is the phase of ‘I desire this because it feels right’.

Step 2. With effort, your dream is achievable

You have dared to dream and now it is time to make plans. You go on the quest to seek out those people who might be able to take you one step closer to your grand vision. You don’t need to convince them, you need to inspire them. The danger is taking ‘no’ from someone else as your answer. Keep going, throw the dice again and move forward (even if you feel you’re going no-where). Remember, it’s child’s-play, they don’t give up easily.

Step 3. Hit and Miss

Your dream will take off and bring you to a place of amazement and uncontainable joy
OR, it may take you in a totally different direction than you had planned.
Either way, trust is your outcome. You played the game, you dared to dream and you learned to trust the warrior-soul.

You didn’t give up the quest. What you have gained is all the excitement and persistence of a brave heart to try again… Go on, you’ve got nothing to lose when you dare to dream….

Matty, Silver and Claire stepping out together

My thanks to Tania at The Shoe Alternative who first published my article online. She is always on the look-out for new articles – why not hop, skip and jump across Cyberspace and pitch your stories –
t he shoe alternative

The wonderful surprise you get if your story is accepted is a unique drawing created by one of their talented illustrators. The image at the top of this post is the creation of Gregory Mackay - I just love it!
gregorymackay.com

Copyright © Maribel Steel 2014

How to Flatter Your Editor

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 07:48:00 +0000

Brian, the thinker

Yes – meet the senior editor of all my blog posts, a man who ponders deeply about life, the universe and everything. A man who is dedicated to the craft of writing and the person who goes out of his way to help me at every stage of my writing career…and the dear man who has been devoted to caring for me and my kids over several decades…meet my father, Brian!

When I was recently invited to present a webinar for Hadley School for the Blind, by the Senior Vice President, Dawn Turco, my co-presenter, Maureen Duffy and I had many tips to share on the topic of blogging.

One of our points was about the importance of proof reading and asking a second editor to look over your work – especially if, like me, you are blind or visually-impaired.

Brian is a well-seasoned author and linguist and now in his semi-retired years, he is also one of the talented team members behind the scenes of this blog and my many writing projects. Being my collaborator, I can’t thank him enough for his impeccable editor’s eye, for his prompt proof reading and his skill in suggesting changes that stay true to my writing voice.

On some weeks, I may have more stories than usual to proof read especially when I am in a creative frenzy to enter writing contests. One day, I wrote him a poem in the desire to interest his curiosity with sweet words of praise to take on the extra work load…

Sweet Design

Hi father dear,
a pithy piece here,
won't take up too long,
you'll be free once it's gone,

and I promise not to send,
any more this weekend,
and if energy fades,
I have croissants and marmalade,

to bring with a smile,
as you toil for a while,
be assured no other man,
works as hard as you can

in polishing my prose,
heavens, it's worth it, you know,
because you can never tell,
who's reading the works of Maribel!

thanks to you, my talented scribe,
who plays his part, in keeping alive,
adjectives and adverbs and all things great,
a keen-eyed editor, not afraid to fill his plate,

‘another one, Sir?’ I dare to ask,
‘bung it in’, you say, ‘I don't mind the task’
right, then, over to you,
to work your magic…
as you always do!!

Lv, Poet-bel xxx
His reply?

‘Flattery will get you everywhere!’

Swapping ideas

With my thanks also to Dawn Turco and the web team of Hadley School for the Blind, you can listen to the audio webinar and catch our Ten Blogging Tips with a list of resources sourced by social media expert Maureen Duffy and myself, the link is: Webinar in Audio

You may also like:

Come on the Writing Journey

Being blind is the obstacle and the stepping stone

© 2014 Maribel Steel - Photos © Harry Williamson

Tapping rhythm, teaching song. Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 14:18:00 +0000

As a teaching artist for the Song Room, my week was consumed by preparing for the next session. It was a job I adored: scouting out new songs for my younger students, writing original lyrics for the older ones. My life was tuned to the sound of music!

With Harry’s creative flame ignited by my passion to produce exciting repertoires for the two school choirs, he was my collaborative wizard, sprinkling magic into every musical arrangement he recorded in our studio. Dozens of songs with their lyrics soon filled several folders, CDs were piled high beside my desk. I worked with Jaws on my laptop and checked printed sheets with my CCTV.

Within a few months, and with the wizardry only Harry
possesses, we produced two lovely song books, complete with lyrics and accompanying CD. I felt so well equipped to teach my choirs that my nerves to find my way independently to the school each Friday was somewhat eased by being so well prepared and lovingly supported.

My briefcase bulged with song books and lyric sheets, CDs and mini-puppets which I knew would have my younger choir dancing around the music room.

The Big Sensation Concert

One of the highlights for the senior choir (grades 5 and 6) under my choral leadership was an invitation to sing as part of a choir of three hundred children.

The Song Room funded The Big Sensation Concert, where they brought together seven school choirs from around Victoria to share the limelight in one colourful performance.

We had ten weeks to learn a repertoire of six songs chosen by the choir director, Bronwyn Culcutt, a talented musician and choir leader (and the friend who had suggested I contact the Song Room a few months previously).

She arranged the tunes into two-part harmonies, providing all the teaching artists a practice CD to follow when teaching the various choirs our respective parts.

The truly fun part was being given free reign to choose one song we would perform to showcase our choirs, in my case, a highly eager group of thirty-five voices. I presented an upbeat pop song called, Peace by Piece – and my choir was hooked.

We were soon rockin’ and bopping to the lively tune. The lyrics reverberated around my thoughts well after the session, and my white cane tapped in time, bouncing off city pavements and cobblestones, as I grooved all the way home.

Sparkling eyes and flashing smiles

During weekly choir rehearsals, my group and I jived to the swinging melodies, all eyes watching my theatrical hand gestures and body movements. I marvelled at my choir’s ability to follow their visually-impaired choir leader and had to trust they were paying full attention to my ‘solo’ performance.

I moved around with over-accentuated body gestures while mouthing the lyrics to each song so I could give maximum visual instructions for the group to understand when to sing softly, when to raise their voices, when to all come in together and when to finish on a clear single note, and above all, when to dazzle the audience with their flashing smiles!

The girls sang their hearts out, being in their element as they imitated their pop idols. Teaching music was a sheer joy. They loved it as much as I did.

Part of me went into a time bubble, floating back to my teenage years when music blared from stereo speakers, little-miss-me, dreaming of becoming the next Olivia Newton-John!

Buzzing with pride

Performance day arrived and the Melbourne Town Hall was a hive of activity. Over three hundred excited child-proteges were buzzing with anticipation. Supervising teachers from seven schools droned like ‘worker bees’, placing groups of choristers under colourful banners to form one huge hexagonal shape on stage.

I waited in the foyer until my choir arrived and was grateful to be led by two of my ‘girls’ as we darted through the crowd and took up our spot on stage, avoiding the swarm of teachers and volunteers fussing with last minute preparations.

Lights on – wave those rainbow-coloured flags – we’re on! For the first few songs, I rocked and swayed with my choir, as if at a pop concert, feeling the adrenalin of live musicians pumping from the band to a thrilled audience, the three hundred voice choir trilling above the beat

Then there was a hush as the audience shifted its gaze when a bright spotlight fell onto our group. I stepped out from the shadows with one of my Grade 6 singers who led me to take centre stage in front of my choir.

Panic struck momentarily – what if I’m not facing the right group? What if I bounce around so much during our performance that I don’t notice I’m going offstage? What if…?

The band rocked into our tune and I felt a great surge of energy. Arms swung wildly, my face lit up to encourage my girls to perform their best for our début performance.

They gave it all they had and by the end of our pop-rocking song we were almost flying into the air with sheer happiness. Proud parents and teachers applauded their appreciation and the spotlight swivelled around the hall once more to highlight the next choir.

I moved back to be closer to my group, giggles of delight greeted my ears and a warm touch on my arm from their class teacher tingled with appreciation. As I smiled from my heart, one of the girls tugged gently at my sleeve and said, “Hey, Maribel! We’re famous!”

“Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered.” Dr. Seuss

You might also like to read Part One below…and share how music rocks your world…

Listen to and Download some tracks recorded by my quartet, The Lollipops

Tapping rhythm, teaching song. Part One

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 06:39:00 +0000

"To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable." Aaron Copland

It was often on our walks to school that I tapped out a rhythm with my white cane, partly to amuse my eight year old son (who was not amused), and partly to relieve my own boredom in travelling along the same uneventful streets every day.

Down quiet lane-ways, the cane tapped out my version of the Spanish bulerías, counting eight and twelve together in a bouncing pattern that echoed off our brisk footsteps.

Michael was used to his mother bursting into song and on one particular morning, as I moved swiftly to avoid a bin, a step, a pole and then a car – the words blended beautifully with the tapping rhythm of the cane and a new song was born!

bin – step – pole – car: bin – step – pole – car…

I repeated the new mantra and asked my son to continue the chant while I made up a melody.

He flicked a sideways glance at me and with the promise of a bribe of some sort, he indulged my new songwriting fantasy. Lyrics came easily.

“There are too many things in the way, too many things to avoid: all I want to do, is get, safely, to school: bin, step, pole, car, bin, step, pole car…”

Michael ran ahead to move some of the emptied rubbish bins strewn across our path.

“Hey, thanks, Michael. What a good Samaritan!” It suddenly occurred to me that my son might not know the meaning of a good Samaritan, so I asked him.

In his usual, lateral-thinking style, my son took a guess

“ A garbage collector?”

The reason why I was so keen to write original songs was because I had volunteered to ‘teach’ music at Michael’s school as there was no music program in place. As I could not offer to help with reading, I could at least enhance literacy through music.

Each week, as I taught the various grades songs from around the world, it was a new challenge to keep them engaged and participating as some students, particularly the boys in the senior grades, were too shy, or too cool, to join in the group activities. I brought in a variety of unusual percussion instruments from our recording studio.

Keeping them quiet long enough to listen to my instruction was impossible. They were thrilled to have a legitimate reason for banging loudly on drums and djembes, shaking the living daylights out of wooden maracas, and deafening us with cymbals and bells until the supervising teacher shouted them back into order. I prayed for the bell to ring before the next student uprising, smiling at the teacher, wondering why anyone would work with such rowdy children!

On some occasions I did manage to teach them songs they could perform for the whole school at general Assembly. Even though classes were often noisy and unruly, it felt deeply satisfying to be contributing to the school community, to teachers and students alike, bringing music into their weekly routine.

There was only one sadness in my heart. I wished I could greet the children by name. In a classroom of ever-changing faces, auditory recognition was impossible.

The Song Room

An opportunity came my way when a musician friend told me to apply to The Song Room as they were looking for a ‘teaching artist’ to run a music program at a city primary school. Really? I could get paid for doing what I loved?

I made an appointment, spoke with the Director and got the job!

The Song Room were eager to find an experienced person who could begin a music program straight away for the underprivileged school awaiting such an enthusiastic person. Being able to say I was currently teaching children at my son’s primary school played an important part in gaining their favour. On that day, an invisible badge was pinned to my chest, or to my glad heart, and I wore the new title of ‘teaching artist’ with pride.

On my first day at Debney Meadows Primary school, I counted thirteen steps up to the front door. Tap, tap, tap – around the front office to locate the stairs. Tap, tap, tap – down twelve steps and on through a long corridor, scattering little children to left and right. I noted it took sixteen paces to the music room. I felt for a door handle and congratulated myself on opening the right door.

Making my way to the wall of windows, I opened the blinds to let the sun stream in to my new work space. Next, I folded up my cane, hiding it under the desk and away from curious little hands who would be arriving soon.

I took a few deep breaths as I danced around the floor, familiarising myself with any low desks at perfect shin-bruising height.

How can you see me?

Excited voices trickled down the corridor, a teacher hushed giggles just outside the door, threatening disciplinary action in the hope of containing the students exuberance.

Any minute now and it would be like the running of the bulls in Pamplona!

To my surprise, some children entered quietly in pairs, while the renegades made a mad dash to clang on the percussion instruments like monkeys scrambling up a banana tree!

I ask them to climb down off the instrument shelves and sit in a group on the floor. Their teacher greeted me warmly and her smile conveyed ‘yes, I know, they’re full of energy’.

We resume control of the group and I explain my new role as part of their exciting new music program. The children at this school were either new arrivals to Australia or came from refugee homes with little English knowledge, so part of my job description was to design and teach literacy through a fun repertoire of songs and musical games.

Twenty five small bodies sat huddled in a semi circle on the floor around me.

All I could see were little blobs with dark smiling faces, their white shining teeth beaming back at me. As far as they knew, I was just another teacher, until I brought out my magic gadgets: the white cane and talking watch had them mesmerised. Oh, good. Bonus – for me. I had them spellbound.

It was a time of curious questions and puzzlement on their part. They had never met a ‘blind’ person before, a blind person with clear blue eyes who seemed to be looking straight into their amazed faces. Questions toppled over one another in their haste to make contact with the blind teacher.

“Can you see me…over here, can you see me?” came a chorus of calls. I was overwhelmed. “Can you see me, can you see me? How can you see me?”

As I tried to respond individually to acknowledge their presence, those I could see in the front row sat smugly as if I had given them a prize: to be seen by the new blind teacher suddenly turned into an award-giving ceremony.

One dear child, trying to work out how best to help me see her, held a white piece of paper and tucked it under her chin. She quietly asked in a rare moment of silence, “Can you see me now?”

Indeed I could. I marveled at her ingenuity. The contrast of the page to her dark Somalian skin stood out a mile. She beamed with gleaming white teeth when she knew I really had noticed her.

The more I spoke about needing to be up close to things to see them, the more the group edged forward closer to my chair until they were almost sitting on top of my feet!

The younger students were completely fascinated by my talking watch. Total silence could be achieved in three seconds flat when I asked for quiet in return for the speaking voice to announce the time – whereupon one child even quizzed who lived inside my watch?

I was thrilled to know I could control an unruly grade during the chaos: an entire class would stop dead in their playful tracks, squeezing closer to my side to listen to the voice announcing the time. One by one, the teachers asked where they too could invest in such a wonderful silencing device!

Songs of Acceptance

Each week on my arrival to the school, children called out from every corner of the playground and

indoor corridors, “Maribel? Hello, Maribel. Maribel’s here!”

I even had to put my finger to my lips when tapping quietly past the lower grade classrooms so the children wouldn’t call out and disturb the lesson in progress.

The kind students and thoughtful teachers welcomed me so warmly into their school community, their acceptance stirred my heart with fervent purpose. I spent many a happy hour combing through CD’s to inspire my thoughts and plans for new repertoires.

It became a regular game to usher the younger students down from the instrument shelves as they flung their agile bodies like jungle monkeys swinging from wooden drums to be the first to make a clanging sound in the music room.

I loved it!

While sitting quietly on the train going home, exhausted but content, new music games and song lyrics couldn’t be silenced. The moment I arrived home, I had to scribble down the ideas to work on once I had recovered from my output of so much hyperactive energy.

Music flowed richly in my life at this time. My partner, Harry added his generous skills as a composer and musicianship and was amazing. He recorded sound tracks for my students, wrote original music and lyrics with me to make the learning of English fun (we still improvise on anything that amuses us, like losing a sock in the wash, called The one-sock opera!).

Teaching ignited such a creative spark within my sense of play, I composed a puppet musical, was invited to lead a music workshop, ran a two-day program at a youth camp and formed a fun and up-beat quartet called the Lollipops!

Here are three original tracks we composed for children…listen and enjoy!

All Different (Maribel vocalist playing her Celtic harp)

Jelly Cheesecake (Maribel & Harry vocalists. Harry on ukulele. Our take on Waltzing Matilda)

One Planet (Maribel vocalist. Harry composer. A funky rap with a ‘green’ theme)

How does music make a difference in your life, please share your comments…

The Song Room

8 Threads to Weave into the Garment of Change

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 13:50:00 +0000

When I began to lose my eyesight, it was natural to fear losing so many other aspects of my life that I treasured. Becoming an artist and failing to see colour was one of them. But the hardest hurdle to overcome was knowing how to weave positive threads into the garment with the label of disabled.

Did you know that the dictionary defines disabled as: to make unable, weaken, destroy the capability of, to cripple, to have a lack of competent power or strength in either physical or mental abilities, to be disqualified and to make legally incapable: to be deprived of the right to engage and, lucky last, to be rendered unfit.

Hmm, a pretty disturbing label to be given to anyone. No wonder, as an adolescent, it didn’t appeal as an image I wanted to aquire: but it seemed that Miss Puberty had other plans…

No one had warned me about the sneaky tactics of Miss Puberty, the way she could change the life of a perfectly normal teenager when she brought an exclusive offer to our household.

There she stood on the doorstep, bearing the garment of change, insisting I wear the new label of disabled.

‘Sign on the dotted line,’ she said, holding out an invisible pen. Miss Puberty worked with such authority, there was no option but to agree to the hidden terms and conditions of a membership I didn’t want but had to accept.

‘Welcome and congratulations,’ she said. ‘As you now have Retinitis Pigmentosa, whether you like it or not, you can spend the rest of your life freely indulging in any of the labels we proudly stock in our Blind-Bat Boutique. Please take your time to browse and choose carefully from our huge range of richly textured stigmas.’

I didn’t want a new image, or one of their ugly designer garments exclusive to Mademoiselle Black: Itza Shame: X-clude: Inferior Design: Kybosh: De Prive De Paris. I wanted to yell at Miss Puberty, “Take your unfashionable garment elsewhere and drape your labels over someone else’s life. I think you have the wrong house.”

She thrust the package into my hands. “Too late. Like it or not, it’s your designer image now, you have to wear it.”

Fashion the garment

Over many years of trying to cut the cloth to suit my image, with the label of disabled firmly secured to the fabric of my life, it has taken 8 qualities to thread the garment I can now wear with pride.

If you find yourself having to wear a particular label you consider quite unfashionable, let me introduce you to 8 colourful qualities essential to transform your dreary cloak of despair with chic threads of elegance.

1. Attitude is the key to accepting change in your life.

Cultivate a positive attitude and be aware of the choices you are making. Often it is fear and self-pride holding back your progress. When you take control of your attitude in a positive way, you begin to infuse your life with possibility.

Thread the colour RED into your new garment: it is the shade of glowing embers that will keep your fire alight.

2. Gather your support team

Don’t be afraid to gather around you a support team of loved ones, friends and colleagues and let them know how best they can assist you. In all truth, they really want to know how to co-operate in creating a balance in letting you take charge of your own life.

Asking for help when you could honestly benefit from their genuine support is not a sign of personal weakness but can boost the morale of the entire team. With balance and flexibility, you reach your goals with team work.

Thread the colour ORANGE into your new garment: it is the shade of joyful co-operation.

3. Courage to commit and courage to be creative

Once you have accepted a different way of doing things, and have a circle of supportive friends who understand your unique needs, you can begin to commit to certain tasks you want to achieve. You can set creative patterns into the fabric of your life.

You have renewed confidence, you muster a sense of inner strength that enables you to find creative solutions to the task at hand. With courage, you dare to persist when things go wrong. With a bold heart, you insist on finding solutions.

Thread the colour YELLOW into your new garment: it is the shade of radiant sunlight, teaming with confidence, hope and good cheer.

4. Tenacity, persistence and effort

With any outcome you want to achieve, it requires a certain amount of focused effort. You may want to train to learn new skills, or adapt to a new way of doing familiar tasks. Effort, persistence, and tenacity can work together in shaping your reality by not giving up.

Thread the colour GREEN into your new garment: be as tenacious as Mother Nature in her attention to detail, in her cycles of consistent renewal.

5. Independence and freedom

Having woven the thread of acceptance, co-operation, commitment. courage and tenacity of spirit into the fabric of your life, you also can take brave steps toward reclaiming your independence.

Again, this will require training, gathering of new skills but you can make choices that best suit your lifestyle. You may want to have a guide dog as your seeing eyes or prefer to use a white cane in getting around.

Maybe it is time to gain skills in new technologies that can enhance your independence – it is totally your choice. This is an empowering place to be. It is a time to express your talents, and appreciate just how far you have come. Enjoy the sense of freedom as you stride out to conquer those daily challenges.

Oh, and if by chance you find yourself falling into an embarrassing moment, as you will surely do, take along your sense of humour – it will get you out of any sticky situation!

Thread the colour BLUE into your new garment: it is the colour of sky that will keep you boldly stepping onward over the horizon to meet your victories.

6. Organise the chaos

In order to live confidently in a visual world when you are not equipped with sight, you will need a high
level of organisation. Not only do you need to be more mindful of just about everything you do and where you last put things, your support team needs a friendly pep-talk to understand how important it is for you to move through their sighted world. It is full of unpredictable obstacles. Much mental effort is required in remembering every inch of your dwelling place – bringing order into the world of chaos is a matter of your survival and happiness.

Thread the colour PURPLE into your new garment: it is the shade where two textures (of red and blue) combine to form one predictable strand.

7. Trusting your intuition

Intuition is your inner voice, a direct perception of truth independent of any reasoning. Most people find trusting intuition extremely difficult, especially when eyes and brain dominate our sense of reason. As a person with very little sight however, I have learned to reflect and listen to the wise internal voice. It requires patience, stillness and letting go of reason and rationality. Sometimes it is a call to rest and place our own judgements to one side.

Thread the colour WHITE into your new garment: clarity of thought will become clear as you trust the pure guidance of your inner vision.

8. It’s a multi-sensory garment

You can touch your new garment of change, smell it, feel it, it has been skilfully woven by your life’s experiences thus far. It is your own designer garment fashioned from the threads of experience and skilled craftsmanship. Many threads are sewn into the fabric of your being, acceptance, co-operation, courage, tenacity, freedom, humour, patience, intuition,and trust.

How about you? What essential qualities have you woven into the fabric of your personal garment of change? Please share your comments, it would be great to know!

All images © Harry Williamson 2014

Thanks to Lincraft, Malvern for allowing us to revel in their colours

© 2014 Maribel Steel

Who’s Driving this Low Vision Show?

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 07:59:00 +0000

“We can make it happen if we put our heart and spirit into it.”
Alvaro Gutiérrez

Who’s driving the Low Vision Bureau, you ask? Well, not me, I was given the opportunity to steer a bicycle built for three in France and I am not quite sure why, but after our exciting adventure through the streets of Brittany, Harry asked me if I could please leave the driving to the experts...

Today’s post is an invitation for you to hear the conversation between a new friend of mine from Colombia. Alvaro Gutiérrez from the Low Vision Bureau is an expert in the world of technology.

He interviewed me for a Podcast in which he posed thought-provoking questions on topics such as:

·       daily life for the blind community in Melbourne

·        becoming a guest speaker

·       the skills required in dealing with frustration

·       the process of self-publishing a book if you are blind or visually-impaired

·       the nine qualities essential for coping with losing one’s sight

·      - and much more!

The only thing Alvaro and I may have forgotten to include is the free offer of steak knives for
every new subscriber to the Low Vision Bureau!

If you have a few minutes spare and want to relax at the end of your long day or are seeking
inspiration at the beginning of a new one, let me introduce you to the LVB Show – a Bilingual
Podcast driven by Alvaro, containing links to dozens of interviews with ‘visionaries’ from all
around the world.

Join us here and if you gain an insight or two, please share your comments after the interview, it
would be great to know what was the most revealing topic we covered.

Link to live audio interview

© 2014 Maribel Steel

The Writing Process Blog Tour

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Sun, 25 May 2014 06:04:00 +0000

“It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed,

to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten;

the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That is where the writer scores over his fellows:

he catches the changes of his mind on the hop.”

Vita Sackville-West

Tour de Blog – Writing across Continents

I am thrilled to have been asked by my good friend, poet and book designer, Bee Williamson, if I would take up the writing baton in what is going around creative circles as The Monday Writing Process Blog Tour.

The aim is to connect writers and readers around the world in a continual blog-hop, where writers are invited to reply to four questions about their writing process and then pass the baton to other writers.

Bee Williamson posted her answers last week Bee's Article

who was tagged by writer and reviewer, Carol Middleton Carol's Article

So here I go, hop-scotching across Cyberspace carrying a baton (ditching the white cane temporarily) in this tour-de-force for writers everywhere. Keep reading to find out who is itching to go, preparing to receive the baton for the tour to continue next week. Writers, rev those creative engines...ready, set, GO!!

What am I working on?

When I’m not fiddling among Google Search Engines, I am either expanding thoughts for future short stories, polishing articles that need a final buff, updating my website and blog or planning my next strategic move. I like to divide my time between writing, networking and doing market research, depending on energy levels and my mood.

Currently, I am nearing the completion phase of an e-book – a collection of personal essays, a selection of posts that were either published here or on other sites, rewritten with brand new content. The intention is to provide readers with a download that can inspire them through personal anecdotes that show it is possible to take hold of this ‘blind thing’ and turn it into a positive experience.

My helper elves and I are working furiously to make my second e-book available in time to launch alongside International White Cane Day in October this year.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I think my writing has differed from others as I have grown into the message of my work. Since taking up the craft of being a writer, the words and thoughts have not only shaped my writing on the page but have given me much to reflect on. The more I listen to the voice within, the more urgent it feels to write.

Think of a little pebble dropped into a still pond and how beautiful it is to watch tiny ripples move slowly out from the centre. This is how my writing seems to be moving too. The theme that has ‘dropped’ into my life, has resonated with many others and now I am being asked to teach, to mentor and to ‘speak my life’, not just write about it.

Why do I write what I do?

One – because I love playing with words and the magic they give to uplift, to move and inspire: writing for me is creating with colour and tone, capturing images for the mind to see.

Two – because it is truly a part of me, I see stories in everything.

Three – because I have stories worth sharing. It has been the frustrating times – when things have gone wrong – that have served as my life teacher, posing the greatest test to my ability to persist, to find other ways around annoying obstacles, to push me forward until I can see the light shining bright at the end of an oppressive tunnel.

By sharing the insights I have found to be most helpful, I hope to bring a lamp to lighten the darkness so that others may see.

How does my writing process work?

Imagine a butterfly flitting around to whichever flower takes her fancy, but wearing little red booties that keep her grounded. That’s a bit like me!

I love the freedom to choose which stories I want to work on when the inspiration is there and yet I can sit for hours and days, lost in time, to complete a writing deadline (yes, wearing my little red booties and sipping coffee to keep me grounded).

Writing energy does seem to flow best in the early morning, yet I also burn the midnight oil when the creative mind has packed up and gone home but the editor’s brain is committed to working in the quiet hours, to inspect the day’s writing.

Some days I work between two stories, allowing thought and inspiration to colour the writing, until I hit a blank. So I peer inside the other document, and stay there for a while.

Being a writer is a multi-faceted profession and I actually do enjoy the other sides of networking and marketing which some see as a necessary evil and interruption to their writing. For me it is an added pleasure to move into wider circles of fellow-creatives to learn from their successes and failures.

One part of the writing process I truly value is being able to block out specific time for writing, like J.K Rowling, who guards the time allotted to her craft, “ as a Hungarian Horntail guards its firstborn egg.”

Now may I introduce you to two talented writer friends chomping on the bit to pick up the writing baton. We race from my home city of Melbourne to the United States to meet Amy Bovaird: and then fly across to the country of Colombia, to see what Alvaro Alvarito is up to hold on tight, this part of the run gets exciting...!Please check their blogs after 2nd June when they post their answers and continue the tour...

Amy Bovaird - is an upbeat vision-impaired author and experienced world traveller. She is legally blind with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). She worked as a specialist in second language acquisition for nearly thirty years, with a career taking her around the world. Amy views life as a personal adventure, and has traded her overseas experiences for an every-day adventure into blindness. Her book, Mobility Matters Stepping Out in Faith, is coming out very soon!

http://amybovaird.com/

Alvaro Alvarito - was born in Colombia, South America and grew up in Europe. He is legally blind, a disabilities advocate, a Podcast Host for nearly 4 years doing Low Vision Bureau (LVB) Show, a Bilingual Podcast where he talks with visually impaired and blind people and organizations from all around the world, raising awareness about the ABILITIES of the

visually impaired and blind community. He has been Blogging for years and is a Social Media and Assistive Technology enthusiast.

http://www.lowvisionbureau.com/

Breathing in the Scent of Motherhood on Mother’s Day

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Wed, 07 May 2014 11:43:00 +0000

Motherhood

“Love children especially. They live to soften and purify hearts

and, as it were, to guide us.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Little snuffles and unfamiliar gurgles filled our dimly lit bedroom. It had all happened so quickly, not even our homebirth doctor had made it in time. I slumped back into the pillows, grateful to hear our daughter’s first few unaided breaths.

“She’s beautiful, she’s so beautiful,” her father said, choking on tears of pride. Our hands touched as he presented me with the whimpering bundle: gently placing the baby onto my concave tummy as if handling precious porcelain.

We felt completely awestruck, as witnesses sharing the miracle of life. He moved slowly, covering us both, our sweet little daughter snuggled close to my heart, and whispered, “Well done.”

I was unable to speak, and unable to see her in the dark. My hands traced over her tiny body, feeling every little bump and wrinkle. She was perfect. I began to hum the soft sounds of ‘Amazing Grace’, as my newborn rested and I breathed in, deeply, the contented scent of motherhood.

As a visually-impaired and inexperienced mother I was petrified that I would accidentally hurt my newborn baby, especially when changing her cloth nappies with sharp pins. I had to feel my way carefully into motherhood.

Despite fumbling through the first few months, inadequacy was eventually replaced by confidence, anxiety became acceptance, chaos was transformed into welcome routine but the need for sleep was, still, the need for sleep.

Claire’s crying settled more and more as she grew older, giving us the confidence, as parents, to attempt going out for regular outings. One night at the local pub, we were enjoying our dinner with bubba-Claire sitting between us. Feeding her little portions from my plate, my fingers guiding me like an arrow to the target. All was going well, or so I thought, until her father calmly said,

“You know you are putting the potato salad in her ear?”

“Don’t be stupid!” I glared.

He leaned back into the chair, smiling, and took a swig from a glass of beer. I checked Claire’s face and almost died. It was true! Gooey mayonnaise lined the outside of her ear lobe because she had turned her head at the crucial moment.

“You do it, then,” I growled, and tossed the spoon in his direction. My hands felt for the edge of the table, planning to make my escape and dive underneath the tablecloth to cry with embarrassment.

“Tarry a moment to watch the chaos of a playground,

crayola-colored shirts of running children, all trying out their wings.”

SunWolf

Claire at four

Blind Parent, Sighted Child

At weekly General Assembly in primary school, parents and students shared in the giving of awards and mini-concert performances. I was happy to be part of the audience with the other proud parents, all of us eager to witness our children’s glowing achievements.

I pretended to see as I tried to take in the scene on stage but, in actual fact, the stage was a blur and the children on it all appeared like dancing red blobs. I had no way of recognising a single face or body shape.

I knew my child was out there somewhere. It saddened me so many times to miss all the visual activity, but other parents kindly described the unfolding scene, allowing for my rich imagination to draw a picture of some sort.

On one particular presentation day, an elderly woman sitting directly in front of me swung around with great excitement. “Look! See that girl over there, the one in the red jumper, that’s my grand-daughter. See her?” The grey-haired lady was falling sideways off her chair with pride and added, “The one in red.”

‘They’re all in red,’ I thought, amused.

“No,” I replied.

“The little blonde one, on the end.”

‘Nope.’

“You can’t miss her.” The woman was astonished.

Oh yes I can.’ “No, honestly, I can’t see her.”

The grandmother waved her finger vigorously in the air. “LOOK.” She spoke through gritted teeth. “Over there in the front row! Are you blind or something?”

“Actually, yes, I am.”

With a jolt of her head, she stared at me, contemplating whether I was just being difficult. Then swinging around to face the stage with her little princess on it, she muttered,

“Blind as a bat, if you ask me.”

Claire and baby Silver

You may also like to read – I Spy with my Little Eye.

Do you have a Mother's Day story you'd like to share? We'd love to hear in the comments.

Blind Bandit on the Run

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 13:50:00 +0000

My father doesn’t like to be late for any function, least of all, for an event to celebrate International Guide Dogs Day.

“One hour should give us plenty of time to find a car park.”
My elderly father chirps as we cruise the city streets of Melbourne.
“We’re way early.”

I smile, keeping vision-impaired eyes peeled to the grey city streets as they zoom by.

But after forty-five minutes, we can’t find one single space on the street. We drive round and round in the belly of two underground parking lots and then drive round in reverse order inhaling fumes of panic.

We escape a heated argument with the attendant at a boom gate and zip past which sets off a screaming alarm. High-tailing it down Collins Street, we do a u-turn, straight out of some movie car chase and speed off again.

With options diminishing by the second, my father prepares to sell his preserved grandmother in exchange for a park anywhere in this concrete jungle.

His foot hits the accelerator and then the brake pedal in syncopation with his heart beat.

Anyone seeking a terrifying ride should forgo the famous roller coaster at Luna Park and book a dare-devil parking adventure with my stressed-out father!

Minutes before the luncheon, he seizes a spot in another parking lot. How to get out of this underground maze poses a new set of blood pressure problems. We have five minutes to get to a building we have yet to locate.

Fleeing as fast as we can, like bandits on the run up the stair well of the fire escape, we spill out onto a Victorian laneway.

“This way... no, this way...” he calls, as I thrash my white cane to keep up, hoping I won’t collide with a brick wall or whack the shin of an unfortunate pedestrian. I feel like a human tsunami – chasing after my father’s coat tails billowing in the breeze as he whirls in front.

In the foyer of the South Tower, I finally latch onto his coat sleeve and skim along white floors polished to a mirror finish. I take a running leap, cane first into the lift just as the steel doors glide to a close.

Bing. Thirty-fifth floor, announcers the robot.

Guests and Guide Dog staff mingle admiring the view. The long white table is still being fussed over.
“Care for an orange juice, Sir?” asks a waiter.
“Why not,” says my father. “Got to live dangerously, hey?”

©Maribel Steel 2014

Being Blind: BENEFIT #1 - You Are the Rose among the Thorns

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 01:32:00 +0000

“But he who dares not grasp the thorn, should never crave the rose.”

Anne Brontë

Have you noticed how life has a habit of cultivating nasty surprises when you least expect them?

One day, you are happily going about your own business, living a normal life when suddenly, your eyes begin to blur: something is not quite right. You think maybe a visit to the optometrist will fix it, a new pair of glasses perhaps – next thing, you are sitting in a specialist’s office who bears the shocking news – you are going blind.

So here you are, caught in the prickly truth – your life is about to change.

How can you possibly let go of living without sight, to accept the terrifying prospect of having no vision at all?

It would seem unthinkable for most of us but I can offer some good news.

There IS a better way to take hold of this thing they call blindness.

When we choose to look for the symbolic rose among the thorns, life takes on a new perspective.

Rose Wisdom

Believe it or not, it was a yellow rose bush that recently brought my attention to this valuable life lesson.

I was pruning her thorny branches carefully when a huge prickle grabbed my bare arm and hooked deeply into my skin.

Naturally I yelled out, “Let go, you rotten thing. Let GO!”

Then something very strange happened.

With my arm still trapped by the grip of the thorn, the rose bush aligned her wisdom to my thoughts and said, “That’s right. Consider this lesson: you have to let go. You can choose to see the thorn or the yellow rose at the top of my stem. Life is like this.”

Releasing her grip on my skin, more wisdom flowed, “Have you considered how much energy this rose bush has to produce in order to open the tight bud into a flowering bloom for you to admire?”

She released her hold on my bare skin and I considered her message.

When we are gripped by a life-challenge, it is fear that holds us so tightly, we don’t know how to release the pain. We feel afraid, caught up with so many emotions, and, having landed among a patch of brambles so thick, we feel deeply wounded.

So what can you do?

Grasp a brand new attitude!

Let go of fear and put your energy into transforming the thorn of disappointment into a marvellous bloom. Acceptance is key.

“Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation,

then deciding what you're going to do about it.” Kathleen Casey Theisen

Second Hand Rose

When my children were young, it was often at their bubbly birthday parties where the only rose I saw was an inferior one. I desired so much to provide a beautiful day for them, that I became entangled by feelings of vulnerability and limitation.

My competence as a visually-impaired mother was truly challenged. What would seem like a simple visual task to any other sighted host was terribly difficult.

The cake I had so lovingly prepared leaned as magnificently as the tower of Pisa, which only served to cut me up with deep feelings of inadequacy. Inferiority reared her ugly head and congratulated me on being as hopeless as a second-hand Rose.

The children were blissfully unaware of the bitterness trapped in my thoughts. Beneath my smile, I feared not being able to perform as other ‘normal’ mothers I knew. But my children’s squeals of laughter and exuberance during party preparations was the tonic I needed to encourage me to keep baking the party food.

I did my best and involved the children to help when they could. But second-hand Rose always managed to push her way into my thoughts with devastating effect at the ironically happy moment of sharing presents.

I heard squeals of delight from the little people and had no idea what they were all looking at.

As laughter ran from one happy child to the next, feelings of exclusion deepened: I was the only person in the room not able to see. I had to mask my feelings of pain of isolation within my clan.

“Oh wow, that’s beautiful. Look at that. Great. Just what I wanted. Cool.”

The chorus of delight continued with the next present in rapid succession, leaving little blind me to ask, “What is it? Can you show me?”

It was hard not to feel a measure of inequality when second-hand Rose insisted on injecting hurtful thoughts into my motherly pride.

At some point during the festivities, one of my children or a friend glimpsed sad little Rose sitting on the edge of the circle and would kindly fill in the details and describe the present under admiration.

The truth hurt: I was completely dependent on the sensitivity of others to include me in the visual celebration.

The beauty in losing sight

It took me many years to stop listening to second-hand Rose. Quite frankly, her mantra of despair stank. I was forced to scent my inner thoughts with a kinder perfume.

As acceptance of my life became easier to embrace, it was as if I had pruned away the nasty thorns intent on hurting my perceptions of life.

I eventually learned that, if I could see past the pain and disappointment my own thoughts created, I was more likely to gain a sense of empowerment by choosing to see differently.

With the non-judgmental support of my loved ones, I was able to surrender my grasp on the thorns and began to recognise the bud of my true potential – as mother, wife and friend.

It’s true - We can’t escape pain in our lives altogether but knowing we can limit our own suffering by being in control of our attitude to any given situation is like doing daily positive pruning!

So ... When the bud of a rose first appears, rejoice.

You have chosen to lift your gaze to the potential in your own life.

Please leave a comment about the personal garden of thought you like to cultivate in your own life.

The Scent of Friendship Lingers on International Women’s Day

noreply@blogger.com (maribel steel) — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 09:40:00 +0000

“I don’t feel very much like Pooh today," said Pooh.

"There there," said Piglet. "I’ll bring you tea and honey

until you do.” A.A. Milne

True friendship grows out of a genuine desire to sweeten the life of your friend when they have a bitter pill to swallow. When sight began to fade during my teen years, I found such a true friend at school. In honour of the female spirit on International Women’s Day (8th March), I will never forget the sweet fragrance of one particular friendship...

It was easier to ignore the dimming of objects, the blurring of words, the discomfort of puberty as sneaky changes were taking place right before my eyes. I was reluctant to say anything to the girls at school for fear that my new glasses would attract ‘‘special’ attention – or worse, be ridiculed and seen as the teacher’s pet.

A new school year dawned and I had not yet found a group of friends to confide in. The home teacher noticed my squinting tendency while I peered hopelessly at the blackboard and moved me from the back of the room to sit right in the middle of the front row. “Did you bring your glasses to school today?”

I cringed deeper into the chair. At thirteen, my life was being turned upside down – all due to a riotous collision of hormones.

One Italian-Australian girl sitting next to me in the front row didn’t seem to mind my ever-growing peculiarities. Antoinette was a kind and studious girl, who ignored the antics of the immature drama queens in our class and achieved high standards in her school work.

On one day, in the second floor classroom, rowdy girls snickered.

“What are you doing?” asked Antoinette, amused as I fumbled around my bag under the desk.

“Be quiet,” I snapped.

Show me!” she said.

I put on the new gold-rimmed frames and pulled a ghastly expression, and then hid my face on the pages of a French textbook as dramatically as if I were before Marie-Antoinette at the court of Versailles.

“Tres magnifique! Those glasses suit you.”

With a playful pinch to her leg, I was relieved my new friend still liked me.

Sitting at the desk beside her, our shoulders nudged together warm and close, so close that her black hair brushed across my cheek, the fragrance of her perfume sweetening our friendship.

Two Peas in a Paranoid Pod

On some days, fuzzy writings at the far edges of the chalk board still eluded my vision, so I turned my failing eyesight to copy Antoinette’s neat handwriting. Watching her craft clear, precise strokes to form words and sentences, was like watching a magician produce something beautiful from out of a blank space. One minute, an empty page – the next, an army of black ink-soldiers standing with military precision upon faint lines.

She often interrupted the private show by tugging at thin strands of her black hair and whined, “I’m going bald, you know?”

“You are not,” I laughed.

“See?” She held out a long strand of invisible hair, and studied it closely before tossing it away.

“Just stop pulling it out, then,” I teased, and continued to copy her writing.

Two peas in a paranoid-pod – with Antoinette critical of her lack of hair, and my embarrassment with all the new bodily changes stealing vision – we soon became inseparable confidantes for one another.

A great resource for girls and young women...

The Dugdale Trust for Women & Girls will be launching their new national website Rosie for young women

Rosie Respect

The site will be a space for young women to connect with the best web resources, helping them navigate life's tricky situations. Rosie will have tips, links, and videos all centred around a theme of respect.

the Dugdale Trust for Women & Girls was launched last year by

The Victorian Womens Trust.

Please share in the comments, what true friendship means to you...

© 2014 Maribel Steel