Funyons

Years ago I heard a story that stuck with me and it was about choices.

The story went something like this: A woman who was visually impaired went to the store and had to have a companion/driver along to help pick out her groceries. While driving there she found a small bag of what felt like chips of some kind on the seat next to her. When she asked the driver what they were he explained that they were Funyons . She asked what a Funyon was. The driver answered with astonishment that they were a chip like smack made from onions.

The moral of the story is that the visually impaired person had never known about Funyons because someone did not take the time to point them out to her. It was not like she was beyond the comprehension of such a magical food. No, it was because everyone thought it not worthy enough to inform her of their existence.

Recently I went to a local store that I had been to hundreds of time. This time I went with someone whose job it was to show me how to get around in the world without seeing it. She pointed out things to me in that store that I never knew were even there before. Of course they had been there the whole time but no one ever bothered to fill in the blanks for me.

Now on the other side of that coin is the person who tells me about every piece of lint on someone’s jacket. Balance is important here.

If there is a fire I do not need to know what things I am racing by on my way to safety. I just need the exit and then we can talk about the details later.

When is too much information not a good thing? When is not enough information a bad thing?

Picture going to a car lot and being blindfolded. The salesman takes you to the center of the lot that stands full of a wide variety of cars. The salesman has decided in his heart what kind of car that you should own. He might ask you what color you want but that was just to be polite. In the end it always comes down to time.

How much time are people willing to expend on your behalf.

sometimes I must admit that I don’t ask the questions I would love to know the answers to as I can tell the level of annoyance that I am raising in the person I am with. It is like a little internal barometer in which I can measure an irritation level. Once it reaches maximum load I know it is time for me to remain silent and without answers.

Here is another confession. I have offered to stay seated in the car because the driver would have less of a hassle if they go on unimbumbered without me trying to keep up and slowing them down.

I am not blaming or lamenting my circumstances I just want to clear the air.

Is the time we expend on behalf of others taking something away from us or is it ultimately adding to who we are totally?

I don’t do the things to be annoying. Believe me I would do all this stuff without a backwards glance to you or anyone else if I had vision. Maybe that is why I don’t have vision so I can learn to ask and you can learn to be patient and answer.

Blessings, Denise

From the writer of seeingdifferences.com