Helen Adams Keller was born a healthy child in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on June 27, 1880…When she was born; she could see and hear but lost both abilities when she was 18 months old due to a high fever from an unknown illness. At the time she went blind and deaf; few people believed there was any hope that such a person would ever achieve anything significant in life. However, Helen proved that the deaf-blind can learn, graduate from college, write books, and affect change in the world. Helen was famous from the age of 8 until her death in 1968.
She was respected and admired by presidents, prime ministers, actors, writers, and especially by the blind and deaf people of the world. She travelled the world making speeches, created organizations for the blind, and in support of free speech, starred in a documentary for which she won an Oscar, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour. Her determination and remarkable memory made her an excellent scholar.
Helen Keller wasn’t the only disabled person who succeeded in living life to the full. Many more have since, and will no doubt continue to. She was, however, a giant inspiration for millions the world over; millions who are deaf, blind, both, or neither. One of her familiar quotes is “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” Helen Keller was once asked, “What would be worse than being born blind?” She replied, “The only thing worse than being blind is to have sight without vision.”
The word “visions mean the ability to see things that are invisible” i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle. “Where there is no vision the people perish, but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” Your vision comes from God, it is not something you thought overnight; Vision gives purpose and adds meaning to our life.
“True vision consists of foresight, insight, and oversight that come from God’s sight.” Foresight is like looking at life through a telescope. This outlook allows us to know what is ahead as it connects us to our future. Insight is the element of vision that helps life make sense and gives us the motivation that we described earlier. Oversight is like viewing life through a microscope. This perception gives us an understanding of why things happen in life. Vision starts from within! Look behind you, what have you learned? Look ahead of you what is the big picture Look beside you, what resources are available to you?
Vision is more than just a mental image of the future. Vision sees a better, more desirable future and provides direction and fuels motivation for its achievement. Vision is what we see, but it is also the way in which we see. Vision is the lens that interprets the events of our life, the way we view people. If we have a scratch on our glasses, it may seem like everybody around us has scratches too, but the problem actually lies with us because our vision is impaired.
People with vision possess two things: they know where they are going and they are able to persuade others to follow. Vision applies to all individuals, communities, nations, governments, organizations. People who don’t have plans for the future are planning to fail! When you visualize, then you materialize. Your vision will help you have a sense of direction and fulfilment as you work your way to your dreams. Life is so full of depressing things that you need to learn to live by the vision and see with the eyes of faith.