6th May 2011
"I who am blind can give one hint to those who see: Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. And the same method can be applied to the other senses. Hear the music of voices, the song of a bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra, as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow. Touch each object as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail. Smell the perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again. make the most of every sense; glory in the beauty which the world in all the facets of pleasure reveals to you through the several means of contact which Nature provides. But of all the senses, I am sure that sight is the most delightful."
— Helen Keller
This week I had to visit a couple of my friends who are undergoing some treatment. I accompanied my mother to an eye hospital where she underwent cataract surgery. I also visited my friend who is undergoing a treatment for what people call is dementia. The symptoms or consequence of dementia is loss of memory, language, problem solving and attention. My friend says that he is not able to remember even small things such as names of his even close relatives, friends etc. He says that he forgets where he kept his car key; he forgets the password for his computer. In the hospital I read some literature on what this ailment is about.
In the eye hospital, I came across people who are being led by their children or friends since they cannot see. I even say some very young babies having serious eye problems. I saw a six months old child who had undergone a major eye surgery. I could see the anxiety on the face of the young couple. I could guess that they would give anything in the world to restore the eyesight of their child.
These things made me to think what we do with the most precious things God has given us, our sight, our memory, our lungs, heart etc. We don't understand their importance until they are impaired. In fact all these `human gadgets' are rated for a heavy duty performance unless they are tampered with. We don't understand their importance and we spoil them. Or we don't use them for proper use when they are available to us.
Supposing you are told that your eye sight will be lost in the next six months, and there are people who have been told so, how will you be using your eyes? If you know that you can store only twenty more numbers in your mobile phone, how will be using the available memory? Do we understand how significant is the thing called `scarcity'?
Do we use our memory when we have this god given gift? How did you dial a telephone number some twenty years ago? Did you not remember and dial? And now? Did you expose your eyes to radiation and excessive light some twenty years ago as you are doing now? Isn't it strange that we don't understand the value of something unless we lose them?
Why not do a small exercise. Starting from tomorrow, try to dial a telephone number by remembering the same and not using your memory. You will understand how you've lost your memory not due to any sickness, but due to your own habit! Do one more exercise. Close your eyes for just ten minutes and try to reach out to the various things that you handle and realise how important is your eyesight!
You need not lose something to realise their value. All that is required is a conscious awareness of their value!
N C Sridharan
000
Posts
