Did you ever have a friend walk you back from the brink of a cliff? Through a series of events that went on for too long, I started to feel the weight of choices. Things that I had done or things that had been done to me. My shoulders started to sag with the pressure from around me. I staggered to hold up my end of the bargain but I felt like a flower that had been pluck from a vase and left on the ground. Eventually I would dry up. Then I confided in a friend and he set me straight. In fact he gave me the water to revive myself and to start thinking clearly again. Ahhhhh, a cool drink of water when I had been walking alone in a dessert.

As a person with a visual impairment I always felt that the things I went through were just like everyone else’s except magnified times 2. I still feel like that but I no longer have to feel like it is something that I cannot handle. I was told, rightfully so that looking for work is a numbers game. If you look for enough opportunities to work, then, eventually, it will happen. I am not a negative person at all. I am not a person prone to depression but I must say that the last three months have been exceptionally difficult. Instead of pouring forth I ducked down and retreated. It turns out that it is not just a loss of vision thing, but it is a normal life thing.

My vision does cause some obvious limitations, but I added the extra layer that was unnecessary. But if my good friend’s words of wisdom struck a chord with me, I thought I would share them with you my blog friends. These words are from a wizened 30 year old sage.
Stick close to dream and do not let anomalies distract you
Do not let the fear of time moving too fast be the biggest deterrent
Live in the moment. Go with the flow, if it is going in the right direction you planned on taking.
Writing is a way to stay mentally sharp and it allows words that were jailed inside to flow out.
Acceptance is something an adult does not need to chase as they left that behind in their teens.
Do not let the idle hands become the hands around your neck to choke out your passions.
Enjoy what you like to do.
Stop worrying about other people and their opinions of you.
Stop striving towards people and make yourself someone that others want to reach out to.
A few good friends are more valuable and more important than a dozen hanger-ons. The best things in life require tons of hard work.
People are lazy when it comes to saying thank you.
Make it a point today to thank someone who might need that word of encouragement.

His words settled on around my shoulders like a much needed coat. They warmed me up from the inside out. After sleeping on what he had to say I knew I had to share his words with more people.

I often wondered since I cannot reciprocate friendship like sighted people do, does that make me less of a friend. No. it means that I have to work on friendships in different ways. One way I can do that is by having an encouraging manner. I am not back on track thanks to a friend who was not afraid to tell me how he saw my storm cloud in my life.

I am now sunny side up and cooking right along again after being derailed for a short time. Thanks for walking along with me and seeing that I got my feet back on the right path.

Blessings, Denise