When You Come to a Roadblock: Slow Down and Stop

One thing is certain.

Change will come.

Changes will be unexpected and will happen when you least expect them. Some changes will be welcome and you will embrace them. Some will be changes you might never have wanted and really won't want to embrace them and invite them inside for a visit. You have no choice in the matter. It is guaranteed that you will have changes as they are a part of our life. Some of the changes will be life altering. Sight loss is life altering. Sudden blindness comes unexpectedly and you are stopped in your tracks, confused, and uncertain what your next step will be. This blog is devoted to sight loss issues and how an artist deals with this situation. This is my way of communicating with others who have experienced sight loss, or are helping someone through this journey.

Recently, Channel 21 Youngstown, Ohio, WFMJ TV did a short feature on the changes that came to my life when in a few days time, I was plunged into a world of sight loss. As a visual artist, it would be the most dreaded situation. In this video I discuss the major change that I had three years ago, and how I have continued to be an artist despite the change.

The biggest difference in my life now, is that I was forced to slow down and stop for awhile.

It was like coming suddenly upon a stop sign along the road. You have to stop immediately and just sit there awhile until the light changes and you can then proceed on your journey. For a person like me who lived an intense life of teaching, lecturing, traveling, writing, and making art it was a sudden jolt.

The thing that caused the loss is not so important. What is important is what we do after the change happens to us.

I am learning to practice "mindfulness" during the day. Instead of continuing on at the frantic pace I had lived as a professor I find that now I have slowed down and have time to really appreciate my life so much more.

My mantra for the day is "Slow Down and Live."

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