Inspired by a mentor of mine, Delfina Piretti, I have been experimenting walking outside without my glasses or contact lenses. I am extremely near sighted and have been so since I was eight years old. Being without vision in the world is one of my biggest fears. The idea that I could not only try life without corrected vision but also experience the world in a whole new way was an exhilarating concept to experiment with. I have been walking with my partner through these initial attempts, still not brave enough to attempt this on my own. I will keep reporting on the shifts in my experience trying this out. We have been walking in two locations, at the library lake in Fremont and at the San Leandro Marina. At both places I am consistently struck by the quality of the light on the water, and how subtle the changes are when the world is out of focus. I am more in tune with the changes in the wind, my skin taking in more of my surroundings and my ears all of a sudden feed me incredible amounts of information. I get lulled into all the variant bird calls and am grateful for my partner there beside me to guide me as I tend to want to dwell and get lost in the soundscape. The most surprising thing so far is my ability to navigate incredibly well. I have been able to keep a sense of direction and feel myself listening to my entire body as I adjust and take in the world around me. More to come....
Kayla
Kayla