b l i n d w a l k s

Have you ever tried walking around with your eyes closed? 

It is an "eye-opening experience."

Classes every day + no current means of transportation = lots of walking for me this semester. 

Once you have trekked the same path (although it is a pleasant one) countless times, the occasional passerby or the gumball kicked violently into the grass becomes a bit of a bore. Other exciting experiences must be explored...like blindness. 

Wait. Stop.

Why don't you listen to music or something??

Solid question. 

Rabbit trail. 

I was returning from spring vacation when the heartbreak happened.

My international flight landed and I had to recheck through security again before boarding my final leg home.

Love the TSA. 

I had one AirPod in (you know the method you use when you want to look like you are occupied but just aware enough so that if anyone cares and says hi, you can respond?)

I was in that mode. 

Well, I snaked through the line, dropped my contents into a plastic bin, and pushed it down the belt. 

Mind you, I had not been actually listening to anything so I completely forgot about Steve Jobs in my ear. 

I walked toward the guard. She looks at me and makes a gesture. 

DARN IT.

I pushed back toward the conveyor belt. 

At this point, I was holding up the line and reached out to drop the random pod into someone else's bin. I thought I would pick it up on the other side and go on about my day with two AirPods and none the wiser. 

Well, that did not go over well with the other TSA agent. 

I grabbed a new, wide, spacious, cream-colored container, carefully placed my solo white AirPod inside, and watched it disappear into the dark mouth of the TSA scanner. 

Never came out the other side. waawawaaaa

All that to say, I can either blow out an eardrum by listening with one AirPod or experience the life of Stevie Wonder. 

There is a pretty straight section of my daily foot commute, and one afternoon I decided to try seeing how far I could walk with my eyes not-seeing. 

Three things I noticed:

1. You never travel as far as you think you have 

2. The wider the path, the more you swerve

3. The narrower the path, the more you need clarity. 

I tried picking out a light pole or an electrical box and judging my steps. When I felt like I was opposite to my desired goal, I would point at where I thought it was and open my eyes. 

My record is 0-(a lot) for that exercise. 

When your eyes are not open and fixed on your goal, you always think you have come further than you actually have.

At times, I have to walk through an empty parking lot, and closing my eyes here is fun. 

A mental comfort comes with knowing that a ditch that was once a foot on either side is now replaced with a random handicap sign light-years away. However, you will be surprised by the swerve-action in these open places. 

Loosely defined paths will end up being circles.

At the end of the day, it is no easy task to walk in a straight line along a chartered path or plot a course to a final destination with your eyes closed. Have them barely shut, and you will find the firm sidewalk became uneven grass underfoot. 

The clearer your journey, the clearer your eyes need to be to walk. 

– Ciao