People have been wondering where in the world I’ve recently moved. I will address that in a future post, but this week, I want to circle back to an earlier topic.

A few months ago, when I started this journey, people reached out to express thought-provoking reactions to the title I had chosen for the website and blog.  Some said I could “see” more with my “heart” than many could with their “eyes.”  Others said they would have preferred a title like “Sightless Visionary.”

These reactions came from a well-intentioned place.  For these individuals who have gotten to know me well over the years, blindness has never been my defining characteristic, and my clothing has never been a topic of conversation among us.  So, to them, why focus on “blind” – a perceived negative that has been associated with phrases like “the blind leading the blind” (or ignorance leading ignorance) and “blind spots” (or areas in which we lack knowledge)?  I did find it amusing that no one had a visceral reaction to “hijabi,” but maybe that’s because they were overtaken with a range of emotions at the prefacing of “blind.”

The best reaction to this title came from a new mentor, who has a gift for dissecting and stripping labels down to their essence.  When I explained that I had chosen this title because it plays on the two very obvious characteristics people notice about me when I walk into any space – that I’m wearing attire that covers my head to my feet, and that I have a long, white cane – she challenged, “So you’ve embraced the labels people have put upon you?  If you weren’t blind and didn’t wear a hijab, what would you be?”

We delved further.  Like anyone else, I’d just be human– absent color, gender, disability status, racial/ethnic/linguistic/religious identities, or any other defining characteristic.  And I told her that, yes, I’ve proudly embraced these labels that perhaps others had put upon me, so that I too can deconstruct them for you all and remind people that we, regardless of our perceived or purported labels, are simply humans.  Going a step further, I suggest we’re stronger, richer, and more often better off as a result of our characteristics, not despite them.

Let’s take “blind,” and the notion of ignorance ineptly associated with it.  If we curiously and creatively re-imagine this word, it harkens an opportunity for discovery.  A blind spot is nothing more or less than an opportunity to learn something new, to grow in one’s self-awareness, and is shared universally by all of us whether or not we can literally “see.”  We all have these spots, and we can use them to our advantage to acquire new knowledge and information we come to realize we need. 

As for the blind leading the blind, I went to a vocational training center in my college years where that maxim was literally true.  Blind cane travel, Braille, and computer technology instructors taught blind people how to cross streets and traverse highways, read J.D. Salinger in Braille, and master the Microsoft Office suite!  These people modelled how blindness can be reduced to a characteristic with the right tools and attitudes. 

But you have to approach the concept of blindness, like anything else that is unknown to you, with curiosity, creativity, and an enthusiasm for discovery, rather than fear.  I embraced “blind” as part of my title with this spirit of discovery and imagination!  And I assert that this characteristic has proven to be a strength time and time again. 

This characteristic has required me to hone my memory recall skills (especially in environments in which obvious notetaking would not be appropriate), problem-solving abilities (particularly in anticipating issues and planning ahead), and strategic analysis with deductive reasoning (with my mind filling in the picture where it is visually or otherwise incomplete). 

Often, not seeing faces has made me fearless; I can’t feel bad about or react to soul-crushing looks of dismay, disgust, or other negativity.  At times, not seeing someone’s face has allowed me to ask an incisive question others would have been afraid to ask, reaping valuable information. 

I don’t look at blindness as a glass half empty or half full.  Rather, some people are good at riding a bike, others at swimming, others at something else, and I’m pretty good at what I do as a communicator, strategist, and advisor.  Blindness helps me be good – like something else would perhaps make someone else be better.

Since I got fewer reactions to the “hijabi” part of my title, I have less to say about it.  Like blindness, I’ve embraced it as something others see about me, and like blindness, it doesn’t define me.  It’s a strength, and has allowed me to cross cultures seamlessly, demonstrate respect for other cultures, and signify through my presence that a hijab isn’t a symbol of weakness, meekness, vulnerability, or submission out of fear. 

Wearing it was my choice, and not something put upon me by anyone.  It was a choice I made with love for my faith and spiritual leader.  If you strip it away, you’ll still get the same smart, sassy, silly person inside and out.  And that’s its beauty – that it is my daily reminder of the values I’ve chosen to uphold, not by force but rather with love.

How do people define you?  How have you chosen to define yourself?  I look forward to hearing more about this in your reactions and comments.  More with you next week!