Nuance of Being Human - That Which Cannot Be Seen
There is something relentless about the world we live in. Time doesn’t care and time doesn’t stop. It would be easy to say the relentlessness in the world is time, but I think the more guilty party is the momentum of life we’ve constructed for ourselves. The lives we lead and the societal construct we’ve built move at the speed of life and with the collective drone of humanity. The only space on that train is that which can define its value and justify its future utility for others. The moment our personal existence can’t keep up, our seat is no longer held and the noisy moving train doesn’t allow for the other passengers to notice.
I came across this post on Reddit and I was inspired to put these words on a screen.
I come across these kinds of videos as shorts or reels often. Watch one and the algorithm will keep you on the list. The most common response from the recipient is to cry. I’ve never been able to ask someone who’s gone through seeing new colors for the first time. What drives their emotion? Is the realization of what they’ve been missing out on hitting strongly? Do colors have their own emotions and people are hit with a lifetime of missed emotion all at once? Once I get through my initial questions, I think about their emotions compared to the existence I’ve enjoyed in full color, blurry color but I have my own glasses to fix that. Videos like these tell me that I’ve taken for granted the ability to experience color. More on this in a moment, I wanted to make a point about the video in the first Reddit link.
At the one-minute mark of the video, we see the man give what I can only describe as a genuine boyish reaction to the joy he must be feeling with this new world he can now see. You can hear the person filming catch the shockwave from the joy this man is feeling. As we go through life, there is a large group of people who live with disabilities that go unseen. Unfortunately, those with unseen disabilities learn to mask, or the best treatment is symptom management. What I like about these colorblindness videos is the clear and immediate demonstration of what “fixing” or relief looks like. Maybe that relief comes in the form of a diagnosis. I’ve seen that with my own eyes. Knowing what is wrong so steps can be taken is a powerful moment for those who search. If you know you know. I don’t know, but I’ve witnessed, so I get it.
Something else Colorblindness lends to this discussion is the low barrier to understanding. Mental illness comes with an unfair bevy of stigma attached. Watching an unseen disability like Colorblindness find correction allows any viewer to witness the happiness of answers. The able-bodied can reference their own ability to see color. Like the questions I have, those who see color can reference what they are seeing at that moment and think about what it must be like. Another trick is to change a phone or screen to greyscale for a day and use a device in that manner. I know that isn’t how most colorblindness works but the concept, in my experience, is sound.
In a final Reddit example, we see what happens when a friend gives his homie a pair of these corrective glasses. The best part is near the end when the recipient walks over to the bush to see what color that plant looks like with his new glasses. Deep down, he knows the way he has seen the world is off. He sees the world in his own way but he wants to compare when he sees through these glasses. This reinforces the lesson that point of view is important when discussing anything with another person. What is a vivid color for one will be dull for another. People’s lives are changed when we take the time to understand and offer understanding, and when asked for potential solutions.
CHR;)
