Color Blind

I spent a little time last year with a friend who was colorblind.

“That’s a sad affliction”, I’d think, while I was photographing a gorgeous cloudless sky.

“I hate that he’s missing out on the beautiful colors of this”, I’d feel, when I’d take a picture of a bright yellow flower.

I became rather fascinated with his colorblindness, I will admit. I realized he didn’t know what he was missing, but I wondered endlessly about what he DID see.

We talked a good deal about it; my curiosity was a bit incessant. He was open to telling me about it, and each time it came up, we had a willing, interesting exchange.

When I witness skies like the ones in the photos below, my heart twinges for someone who is blind to the colors I see. But I did begin to see patterns and shapes faster, because of those conversations, and that’s added dimension to the colors I saw before.

When I was thinking about being colorblind, it occurred to me that there is much we don’t see, don’t even know about.

I am rather fascinated with how people, including me, miss so much about our world and the people in it. I know I can be quite blind to my own true colors.

I will admit that when I realize I am seeing things differently than another, or I begin to see something I didn’t see before in myself, my curiosity is strongly piqued.

What a joy when I find another who’s open to having a willing, interesting exchange. When someone is unwilling to have that exchange, so we can learn about each other, my heart twinges for what is missed.

I’m grateful to my friend for the conversations about colorblindness. I notice things I didn’t see before. I appreciate everyone in my life who engages in conversations about things I’m not seeing or want to see, too. It’s added a rich dimension to my life that has definitely enhanced the color of it.

~ cj 2013.01.17