Those who do not dream differ from those who cannot dream because they have no imagination to dream. I mean, they are really blind from birth. But do the blind dream? They dream and they do their best to bring them to the ground.
There are some questions that you either don’t know the answer to, are hesitant to ask, or that you think are not worth asking. I wasn’t born blind, so I know what this world looks like. Most of us know that psychology says that the dreams we see while we sleep are based on life experiences that we have when we are awake. I now know and believe that the more colorful and varied the visuals we see while awake, the more dreams we have after sleep.
But what about a blind person like me?
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Now the question is, if one does not have such experiences, will he not have dreams? We can also ask this question this way: Will those who cannot see, or those who do not see, dream? Let me explain. I have an answer to this question because I am not born blind.
Visually impaired people or different type of blind people have different dreams depending on their blindness. Some people see nothing, not even in a dream, as they have not seen since birth. They have virtually no visual imagery since they do not have any mental image that comes to them as any viewing experience. And because of this, they see nothing, even in dreams.
But I went blind after a particular progression, so I knew what life was like. As the son of parents who worked as farmers, I was physically fit, but there was only one drawback: I couldn’t see it. My life had become a burden on me. Even my parents did not wholeheartedly accept my blindness, at least not in the beginning. Even though I was innocent, I considered myself under some kind of curse. It wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t help it.
A blind man knows he cannot see and is glad to be led, though it be by a dog; but he that is blind in his understanding, which is the worst blindness of all, believes he sees as the best and scorns a guide.
-Samuel Butler.
Society, as well as my relatives, used to taunt me for my blindness. They used to say, “He can’t see, his life is worthless.” There were very few people who loved me and helped me.
I had to face life’s challenges and the taunts of people, but my grandmother’s love, care, and help were everything to me. However, now everything was confined to inside the house. There was no one to help me outside of the house. The whole family felt humiliated when someone said something bad or insulted me, so I stayed inside.
It was very difficult for me to adjust to this environment, and in the end, I made an important decision and got away from the world, i.e. self-centered.
In the same sequence, there are other people who lose their ability to see at five to seven years. There is always an image of something or other in his mind. That’s why sometimes, they reflect even in their dreams. Because of their young age, they have less experience and memory, so the pictures they see are also of some memories, such as their mother’s face. However, over time, these images become blurry and eventually disappear. If a person loses the ability to see after reaching the age of 18, he will dream like a normal person. But it was not so in my case. I went blind at about the age of 20.
Now the question is, if blind people can not see, what can they call a dream? I’m not sure how other people like me feel, but as I said earlier, dreams are based on our experiences while awake. Visually impaired people like me also get used to hearing, smelling, or tasting things throughout the day and become familiar with them. These experiences constantly got repeated in my dreams.
According to my personal experience, about half of the dreams of visually impaired people are experiences I hear, and the remaining half are experiences felt by touch, smell, or taste. According to the examples included, when having horrific dreams, blind people feel themselves being hit by a car or falling into a ditch. Otherwise, in the dream, they are afraid of an animal like a dog. These are all experiences that visually impaired people face in daily life and are part of their dreams.
It is also interesting to note that blind people are almost twice as likely to have scary dreams as normal people. One-third of the average person’s dreams are frightening, while two-thirds of blind people’s dreams are frightening. Human life is full of challenges. In today’s world of struggle, there will hardly be any people who have not struggled in life.
Challenges, struggles, and problems are an integral part of human life. Human life is incomplete without them because it is from them that the spirit of learning develops in human beings. Everyone tries to overcome the challenges of their life every day, but sometimes life is not so easy that we can fix everything with our efforts. In such a situation, we feel helpless in front of those above.
Visually impaired people can only study art subjects, so I resorted to music as well. What is life? In response to this, different philosophers offer different definitions and concepts. Life is a struggle for some, love for some, but for me, it was a life lesson. A man learns it when he is at his best and when he is at his worst. Either man becomes a slave of circumstances, or man must learn the art of managing circumstances according to his own accord. Of course, the second option is much better and more effort-oriented. But real life comes to those who can turn every odd situation in their favor.
Life rarely brings everything to someone. Everyone finds something and sometimes loses it. It depends on how you want to live your life. I used to hear the story of a man who was blind from birth. But his inequity filled him with passion. He achieved everything in his life. According to this blind man, the doctors had declared him blind a few moments after his birth. But he never gave up but kept struggling and reached to the top.
After reading his story, I felt motivated and came to Chennai. His story has been a source of inspiration for me, and this personality touches my heart even today. I knew there was no special arrangement for people like us, so I when I arrived in Chennai at 21 and went for a free surgery, I was hopeful. But, my surgery failed. I took it as my fate. Since I didn’t have money, I started selling newspapers after studying in a blind school. I loved school because I made many friends there and learned to be self-sufficient.
I learned the braille system. I used to sing in a local orchestra to earn money. After that, I studied till late at night. This is how I deposited money and studied further. After that, I finally got a job as a singer at a bar.
I like my work a lot. My coworkers are very nice. He taught me how to catch a train alone. Now I make rice and dal for myself too. When I felt that I had earned enough money, I married the girl I met and loved in blind school. I’ve never seen her, but I know she’s beautiful. She has a very good heart. She never let me feel I was lacking in anything. We have lived a wonderful life together, and we also have a lovely daughter.
It’s been 12 years today since I saw the world with my eyes open. I haven’t seen colors, despite that, life is beautiful for me. Accept life as it is, love it, and the world will be the most beautiful place for you. I have no problem; I struggle because I am blind. All this is possible because I love everyone in my home and workplace. When I hear people talk about problems, I think that’s not the problems really but maybe they lack determination.