The Blind Man

     So, I'm taking a break from reading this short story for class, because well, it got me to thinking.  And well let's face it, here lately I seem to be doing a lot of that.  The story is of a blind man who lost his wife and comes to stay with a lady who used to take care of him, and her husband.  The husband can't understand how the blind man was ever married to someone that he couldn't see.  That because he couldn't see the size of her, the color of her hair, the color of her eyes, the beauty that she exhibits when she smiles or laughs, that somehow, this is a sad union. 

     How could this woman marry him knowing that he could never see her and be able to compliment her on the dress she is wearing, the way her hair falls across her face, the way she tucks her hair behind her ear when she is nervous.  How could she be with him knowing that he could never make her feel beautiful.  It just got me to thinking at how blessed they both were.  Neither one had preconceived notions of the other.  They didn't care what one another looked like, dressed like etc.  They looked past all of that and fell in love with each other's souls.

     I often wonder what it would be like to have that kind of relationship.  To be loved by anyone just for being me and them not expecting anything in return. In today's society, it just seems like a foreign concept.  People don't do anything without expecting something in return, or at least most don't. We have dropped the notion of kindness and selfless acts at the door with the erosion of our morality.  Seems you try to go against the grain and care for someone just because it is morally the right thing to do and help them when need be, and people tend to lash out because they don't know how to deal with the kindness, the concern because they have never felt it before. 

     We become slaves to society expecting a norm of confusion and disappointment. When someone who appears in our lives chooses to care and help us rise above, we don't know how to receive that.  I've been there, so I know what I'm talking about.  Because see, just like the blind man, someone once saw me for me and helped pull me out of the dungeons of despair. There were many times I pushed back and somehow, she's still here after all these years.  Not because she has to be, but because she loves me and cares about me just for being me. On that note, thank you for not giving up.