Blind Man’s Soliloquy
From The Cauldron, No. 1
“I am living along with you, but my life is not like yours. This is not as it should be – so that’s why I want to tell you things. You see, I live closer to my soul than you do. I am in the midst of life and yet I live apart. For me, the windows are closed and the blinds are drawn. It is dark – but I am used to it now. At first it was confusing, and I was a little panicky – but now I somehow enjoy the quite serenity of it. My mind has delved into the hidden places and I have learned much about life… You see only reflections. In my darkness I see the forces of life at work. I can tell which are real and which are not, and I can sense the limitless possibilities of our endowments… Your days are full of the artificial. You are the victims of bluff, selfishness and insincerity – and too many of you practice these devil-arts yourselves. You have no idea how easy it is for me to see through the insincerity and intolerance of people and the shams of life. And when I work on a problem, I can go straight to the insides of it. Somehow most of you cannot do this… And let me tell you this – I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, for I am a pretty lucky fellow after all. I can out-think most of you and I know more about real values than you do. Always remember that there is a law of compensation. For everything that is taken away from us, something we didn’t have before is given to us – to keep us all in balance. I guess I really am a lucky fellow. I am blind, but I can see.”
~ Nelson Douglass Jr. circa 1941