Beauty Buzz/Blog Biz | BLIND: Bold Leaders Illuminating New Directions
Editor’s Note:
Directly below this note is an audio file of today’s article for those who prefer to listen. Enjoy! ~Stephanae
Why BLIND?
Living abundantly is not only possible for blind persons, I feel it is almost a better way to live in that we perceive the world in a deeper, richer, more profound, and meaningful way.
~Carla Ernst
At Bold Blind Beauty, empowering, connecting, and breaking barriers is our passion. We also love positive acronyms and clever wordplay. Bold Leaders Illuminating New DirectionsTM is our newest take on the word BLIND.
The definition of blind literally means “unable to see because of injury, disease, or a congenital condition.” However, even in 2021, there is still a great amount of stigma associated with the words blind and blindness. Worst yet are the continued fallacies, bullying, and skepticism concerning the capabilities of people on the blindness spectrum.
Systemic hurdles to employment, healthcare, education, technology, and more, keep a great number of blind people from reaching their full potential. A vicious cycle aided by the continued misconceptions prevalent today, is why fierce advocates are working around the clock to break barriers.
What Is It Like Being Blind?
If you’ve met one individual with autism, you’ve met one individual with autism.
~Dr. Stephen Shore
To answer the question ‘what is it like being blind?’ We need to understand that blindness is so much more than not seeing. Contrary to popular belief, blindness is not always obvious, nor for approximately 85% of us, does it mean total darkness.
Depending on where we are in our journey, living with blindness is not easy as it impacts our day-to-day lives. The physical, emotional, and psychological impact can take a toll on many of us. When we add in the ongoing social stigma and mistaken beliefs about blindness it makes life even more challenging. Yet even though we face physical and invisible barriers every day, because we are so adaptable, we figure out solutions to overcome obstacles.
The scope of blindness is colossal and it differs from person to person even if two people have the same eye condition. So the simplest way to answer the question ‘what is it like being blind?’ would be to take the above quote and substitute the word blindness for autism.
Who Are We?
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.
~Helen Keller
In the US alone there are 21 million adults living with sight loss.
We are extraordinary. We are able to see the world through a spectrum few get to experience. No matter where we fall on the blindness spectrum we have developed skills from self-care to independent living. These skills, aided by Personal Adjustment to Blindness Training, allow us to take full advantage of our remaining sensory systems.
Among our ranks are athletes, artists, astrophysicists, authors, ballerinas, chefs, composers, consultants, entrepreneurs, fashion designers, lawyers, models, photographers, physicians, pianists, podcasters, poets, psychologists, singers, social workers, speakers, teachers, therapists, yoga instructors, and the list goes on. We choose to soar and continue to thrive beyond physical limitations because we understand there is always a way.
It warms my heart knowing that many of the people featured here on Bold Blind Beauty are among the ranks above—they are leaders. Of the number of qualities encompassing leadership blindness is not one of them. What this means is, there are blind people who have a vision; they are and will continue to be leaders.
Who are we? We are 21 Million+ Strong. We are Bold Leaders Illuminating New DirectionsTM.
Connecting With Bold Blind Beauty
👀Subscribe to our YouTube Channel youtube.com/c/BoldBlindBeauty
🎧Listen to our Podcast boldblindbeautyonair.buzzsprout.com
👥Join our Facebook group @BoldBlindBeauty
👩🏾🦯Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @BoldBlindBeauty
Stephanae’s Bio
Kindness, compassion, and a deep desire for social justice are central to who I am; these are my values. I founded Bold Blind Beauty out of a personal need for empowerment that I wanted to share with others.
After an amazing stint at one of the Big Four accounting firms, I was finally able to pursue my passion for becoming a full-time abilities crusader (advocate). The one thing sight loss has taught me is perception is much more profound than seeing. I may have lost my sight but my clarity has increased exponentially, and for this I am grateful.
Image Description
- A young businessman is casually walking alone with his white cane.
- An artsy image with the word “BLIND” at the top and “Bold Leaders Illuminating New DirectionsTM” are centered in a list underneath. These words are in a graphic box with lines and dots and at the very top are small words that say “Estd. 2021”
- Becky Andrews, LCMHC, is the Clinical Director of Resilient Solutions, Inc. is sitting at her office desk with Georgie (her faithful guide dog) sitting on the floor by her side.