Reflections on Vision Loss and Daily Life

Reflection. My thinking one day brought this particular word to the forefront of my mind. All of this was centered on what we can see.

Reflection:

The many definitions of reflection read like this:

1. The act of reflecting, as in casting back a light or heat, mirroring, or giving back or showing and image; the state of being reflected in this way.
2. An image; representation; counterpart.
3. A fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration.

Constantly looking to make out the images before me, so many ways to work it out.

The view

As I set about my day, I am always aware of what is around me. Whether it’s a clear view or not, it is still there. Using added lights to illuminate my daily routine ensuring it is visible is my daily challenge. Even when it is an ordinary task, I constantly am working to brighten the passage of each step, making sure that I am staying on task. Keeping my view as visible as possible.

The act

Taking reflections as an act of casting back the light to show just what lies ahead. I continually find myself cautiously moving through my day to ensure there is not catastrophic mishap; be it a stumble or a drop. Truly reflecting on each movement, using this definition of the word to move successfully through my day.

An image

Reflections as an image fits my art world to a “T”. As I love to design my art, I find so many reflections in pieces that I have created. My interpretations of these figures really do become an image of reflection that I only can see. Even with myopic degeneration, I am constantly zooming in on details to complete each project. The image comes to life as only I can really see it.

Careful consideration

This new journey has certainly presented its trials. Being able to see well so that I can create each project can be frustrating at times. Thankfully, I have found that there is a way to work around these challenges. These simple steps, which include LED lighting, large computer screens are easy enough. Additionally, even just moving closer to each piece has made all the difference in the world. Basically, each project takes this careful consideration to work around the problems of this degeneration.

The word

It was an early morning thought that brought this word reflections to mind. I was looking at an annoying thumbprint smudge on my iPhone, thinking good grief, can’t you keep this thing clean? Then I looked again. That annoying smudge looked even more familiar than normal.

Taking the time to close the “good” eye and look again is when it hit me. There it was an almost perfect “reflection” of what the “not good eye” was seeing. A swirling-looking smudge, obscuring the view that was behind it. With a quick cleaning rag swipe that smudge was gone, and the view was made clear again.

Now I wish it was that simple for eyes affected with myopic degeneration.

Editor's Notes: Definition sourced from Collins English Dictionary via Dictionary.com.