On a train ride home from my Italian language class one evening, a blind man and a blind woman sitting across from me caught my attention. They struck me as a married couple. They got off the train at the same time I did and upon exiting the train, they immediately grabbed each other’s hands while their other hands were securely holding on to their walking sticks. As I walked past them, I could hear them laughing at what seemed to be a joke they alone secretly shared.  They struck me as a very happy couple.

I decided to further observe them so I decided to stay behind them as we all descended the stairs.  At this juncture, I noticed the blind man position himself on the step in front of his blind wife telling her that this is a very safe way for them to descend the stairs. He assured her that in case she fell off the stairs, he would be in front of her ready to catch her. He didn’t seem to care about who would catch him if he fell.

I was deeply touched by what I just heard him say to his wife. It was then that I realized that most people, blind or not, protect their loved ones in the same way that normal people do. Sometimes, even more so like in the case of this blind couple that I happened to observe tonight.

When I reached the last flight of steps, I closed my eyes for a few seconds and tried to imagine how it must be like for this blind couple to see nothing but darkness.  As I closed my eyes and saw nothing but infinite darkness, I began to panic. I felt fear. I cannot imagine a life seeing nothing but only darkness, nothingness. I immediately opened my eyes and felt a cloud of relief envelope me as I saw everything around me again. I felt a profound sense of gratitude for the gift of sight I was blessed with when I was born. The ability to see the beauty and ugliness of the world and being able to see the difference are the best gifts all of us should always be thankful for… to the One who created us all.