[stylist] Dealing with frustration memories!

[Robert Newman]

Hey you guys, especially those of you who are newish to blindness, and/or
know in your inter-self that your blindness is still a ... too troubling
factor in life.

Here is one of the more important collective realizations of truth that we
within the NFB know to be...true. When blindness comes, it is initially
scary, can be limiting, and must be dealt with in a very straightforward,
open manner. Also that the actual physical loss of sight is of a lesser
problem  than the social ramifications which are due to ignorance and lack
of information about the Human potential to successfully manage life with
blindness. It's like,; when blindness comes, you must embrace your
blindness, make it a workable and acceptable part of you; you cannot stand
strong if you are fractured within and non-accepting of your entire self.
And here is the route we all know is the best way to achieve total
acceptance: Seek out and learn from others who are blind and are exhibiting
success in life! The Federation is the best resource for this. It does not
take long to recognize that deep down, and often bubbling to the
service...we  know Humans are intelligent and adaptive and blindness is not
what needs to hold us back. 

For those of you who can do it, seek out any opportunity where you can learn
from those who are skilled in the life skills which are more adaptive to the
partially or totally blind. And if you can arrange it, go to one of the NFB
training centers found in Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota! (A few individual
states also have a training center of a similar philosophical and training
based program; talk to NFB training center staff to learn of where else are
acceptable centers.) Go on to our http://nfb.org site and read about our
training centers! 

You must now learn about living life and blindness, just as you once learned
about living life sighted. And there is no better place to do it, then from
those who have mastered it! 

I started out fully sighted, and at age 15 became totally blind.
Professionally, I was a vocational counselor working for a state agency for
the blind. And I've been a member of the NFB since 1969. And though I am
totally blind, most of my blind friends have some useful vision; along with
their blindness; we are the same in regard to needing to learn and master
those blindness skills that will allow us to function when vision is either
absent or is not sufficient. 

Thanks for being on STYLIST! And if you are not presently a member of the
NFB Writers'
  Division, join!