Blind Happiness – How To Stay Positive When Faced With Adversity

Blind Happiness

On my regular running route along a local city path, there is a saying that is spray painted on the pathway – “Blind Happiness.” I have been running by this graffiti for the last 3 or more years and it always resonated with me. As I have run by this many many times, I have wondered what this saying really meant and what the purpose of the saying was? I always interpreted the saying to mean total happiness or blissful happiness.

The interesting thing about this grafitti is that I wanted to Blog about it many times but I didn’t really know how or what I was going to write about.

As I was out for my run this morning in the cool air with the Sun rising, I ran by the “Blind Happiness” grafitti once again. The true meaning of this really hit me this morning as Barbs mom Marge has become 100% Blind in the last month. I cannot fathom being 100% blind with zero visibility or zero light, but what amazes me is that she is and remains very happy. She has been living with us since becoming 100% blind however she is still amazingly happy and has a very positive outlook. Think of that….she is blind but happy – hence todays blog  – Blind Happiness.

As I have written about before, we often take out health for granted until an “event” happens. I know that I (and likely many people) take my eyesight for granted but I can’t help but think how much my life would change if I could no longer see anything.

For example, think of it in these terms:

-never being able to see again

-never being able to see our kids or grandchildren again

-never begin able to see the view at the lake again

-never being able to walk over to Tim Hortons (her favourite)

-never being able to see birds, nature, the sun or the moon.

-never even being able to go to the bathroom or walk around without assistance

With the diagnosis of little hope of Marge ever regaining her eyesight, she still remains very happy and content.  I can’t help but think what a trooper she is and remains my hero through all of this adversity. I can’t imagine being blind and can’t imagine accepting it and still being positive however that seems to be what is happening.

The Story

This past summer Marge was still driving and had her full independence. When she was driving, she was going to her cottage regularly, driving to and from the cottage to and from Burlington and was fully functional on her own. However her eyesight started regressing very quickly over the past few months due to her Glaucoma. The pressure behind the eye became so great that she needed to have an operation to insert a stint into the eye to relieve the pressure. The operation went well however the next day she haemorrhaged (bleeding) behind the eye and woke up in excruciating pain. After visiting the specialists, the prognosis wasn’t good in that the bleeding behind the eye is what caused her to loose her sight.

There is an outside chance that she will regain her eyesight so that is what we hope and pray for every day.

Marge has been staying with us since her diagnosis and she requires 100% care. That includes going to the bathroom, preparing meals, eating, going to bed and simply getting around the house. In fact we installed a baby monitor so that we could hear her if she needed anything in the night or needed to go to the bathroom. It has been many years since we have had a baby monitor but needless to say you don’t have a very restful sleep.

Marge really wanted to get back to her Condo and I am pleased to say she was able to move back in to her Condo this past weekend and is now living there with a full time care giver. So essentially she is living as close as possible to her life prior to loosing her sight.

Positive and Happy – How Does She Do It?

When I asked her how she is remaining so positive and happy, she reflected on the life she has had and all the fortunate things in her life. In her words ” I have had a great life and think of all the great things I have done and all the great places I have seen and how fortunate I have been”.  Even though she can’t see, she remembers visually what we look like, what life looks like and therefore pictures everything in her mind versus actually seeing it.

My takeaway is that the thing that is keeping her so positive and happy is being grateful or her Gratitude. I believe that one of the major keys to happiness is Gratitude. For those that have read past blogs, when I go though my mantra, one of the items I always think about is being gratefull for what I have no matter how big or small. I believe that this is one of the key reasons for Marge’s happiness. To read more on gratitude and my daily “Mantra” read here –Thoughts That Can Can Change Your Mood http://kevinbradyhealth.ca/thoughts-that-change-your-mood/ ‎

Hope for the Future

Marge also has hope for the future (as we all do) that her eyesight will come back. She is resting her body and letting it heal in the hope that by some miracle her eyesight will come back. Therefore she is looking at her future thorough a positive lens which once again is a key component of happiness. She could very easily think only of the negative side of things and be very depressed about what life has dealt her but instead chooses to be happy and content.

What a trooper. Please join me in a prayer for Marge in the hopes that her eyesight will come back.

I also want to acknowledge Barb and what she has done to help Marge out. In addition to her regular extremely busy life, she has been spending many many hours going to Dr appointments, running errands, buying groceries and overall  has been doing amazing job looking after her mom.

Takeaway On Happiness

My learning on this is that even though Marge is currently blind, she is very happy and content  and therefore is experiencing “Blind Happiness”. She  has remained positive by thinking of how gratefull she is for so many things in life. She also has focused on a positive future in order to have a good outlook on the future.

As we come into this great Christmas season where we spend amazing time with our families, please join me in being grateful for everything we have in our lives. Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a very healthy and happy 2017.

Yours in great health and happiness, Kev