I spent my morning watching a video of Sam Gwilt on Youtube. He is an industrial designer based out of London, and is very popular on Instagram for his visualization skills with his sketches and renders. He was presenting his journey as an industrial designer. But that was not what caught my attention. The presentation had a segment where he described about eyesight and how his condition made him see the world differently.
Here’s the video (watch from 14:00 to 20:10)
I was facing the same condition in my eyesight too. My right eye is “lazy.” It was a major insecurity regarding my appearance. People had quite frequently commented and brought it up in conversations. My squint would show up in almost every photo that I had taken of myself. I felt left out and dejected for really long because I looked really odd because of my eyes. I absolutely loathed getting any pictures taken of myself and retired to the corner or the back of group photos, so that I wouldn’t stand out much. Over time, I had very few photos of myself that were worth putting up on any public platform.
Like Sam, I am in the field of design and engage in the sketching, modelling and rendering. My lazy eye had been helping me through my creative activities without my knowledge. Although it doesn’t solve the issue of my appearance, it has been serving a hidden purpose in my life until today.
I started to see my eyes in a new light. I did not understand my condition until today to appreciate its worth. I am grateful that I could realize it relatively early, since I am only 22 years of age and there is a long life ahead.
There is a larger shift underway in my mind though. I learnt to no longer look at my body issues as an issue in the first place. Biologically, it might stand out as an anomaly or defect. The constraint would most certainly serve as a path to something more. In my case, understanding how I see has changed how I “see.” Seeing with the mind is to focus on what matters to us in our lives. Just like the biological eye, the mind eye can focus on necessary details and ignore the rest of the scene as low-fidelity data. This potentially means we have the powerful tool of choosing what to see of the outside world and in ourselves to appreciate. We choose what we fill our hearts and minds with, depending on what we want to pick out of our experiences.
I got reminded of the story below that I finally made sense and lodged in my head strongly
A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.
“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”
“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.
Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.
“No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.
“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”
“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”
The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
Here is a small appeal from me to you –
Dear Reader, Life can seem very cruel at times. It certainly is not fair. People are not bestowed with equal physical abilities across all of mankand. So if you’re reading this and something about yourself or your body comes to your mind, there is something out there for you. Understand your ability fully and know how your condition augments your existence. And search. Don’t stop searching until you know what you were made for. I was fortunate that my abilites supplemented my interests. I wish you the best of luck too.
I shall sign off with a profound song lyric from Pink Floyd
And all you touch and all you see Is all your life will ever be… Breathe, Pink floyd
Skandha
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