The Blind Man

Once again, I found myself walking down Cuba St. As a approached a cross walk, I noticed a blind man waiting by the curb. He was wearing an old brown leather jacket that looked as if it had kept him warm through many winters. The wrinkly fingers of his right hand wrapped naturally around his white and red cane. His thin, frizzy, white hair blew around in the cool fall breeze.   I decided to hang back a bit, so I could keep an eye out for him and make sure that he made it to the other side safely. After we both reached the other side of the street, I quickened my pace and proceeded to walk past him. As I passed him on his left side, I glanced over at his face and was completely taken back by what I saw. He was smiling at me. He had a smile, the likes of which I have never seen before. I immediately smiled back. I thought to myself, “that’s strange, perhaps he just has poor vision, but could still see me.” However after watching him encounter a small advertising sign in his path, I could tell that he was completely blind. I had to turn and look at him again. It wasn’t just the smile but the underlying peace that accompanied it.  I found a bench to sit on, so I could watch him walk by. He slowly  made his way towards me. He would occasionally encounter an obstacle,  and mindfully negotiate his way around it. He drew closer to me and even though I was sitting in silence, I could tell that he was quite aware of my presence. When he got to about eight feet from me his radiant face slowly turned in my direction. He made no expression other than holding that same beautiful smile. At this point my face almost hurt as my smile felt like it extended ear to ear. He continued on his way and I took a moment and found myself laughing out loud. It was a laugh from the deepest part of me. It was the laugh of a profound realization. Here I was surrounded by people, and the only person who could see me was a blind man. Or perhaps more accurately put, he was a person who had lost there vision, but had gained the ability to see.