Helen Keller
The Quaker's name for Sunday
On the first day, I want to meet someone. Their kindness, gentleness and friendship make my life worth living. First of all, I hope to stare at the face of my dear teacher, Mrs Anne Sullivan Macy, for a long time. When I was a child, she came to me, opened the outside world for me, and let me cherish it in my memory. I want to study her appearance and find vivid signs of her gentleness and patience from my compassion. This is how she completed the arduous task of educating me. I hope to see in her eyes the strong character that can make her stand firm in the face of difficulties and the sympathy for all mankind that she often reveals to me.
I don't know what it means to see a friend's heart through the "window of the soul", that is, through the eyes. I can only "see" the outline of a face with my fingertips. I can detect laughter, sadness and many other obvious emotions. I know my friends by feeling their faces. However, I really can't describe the personality of his umbrella by touching it. Of course, through other methods, through the thoughts they expressed to me, through any actions they showed me, I also learned something about their personalities. But I can't have a deeper understanding of them, and this kind of understanding, I believe, can be obtained by seeing them, observing their reactions to various expressed thoughts and situations, and paying attention to their eyes and facial reactions.
I know my friends well, because they have revealed all aspects of themselves to me over the years; However, I have only an incomplete impression of my temporary friends. This impression comes from a handshake, from the words I understood from their lips through my fingertips, or from the gentle touch of their palms.
You people with vision can quickly understand the essence of the meaning expressed by each other by observing each other's subtle facial expressions, muscle tremors and gestures. How easy and satisfying it is! However, have you ever thought about using your paratroopers' eyes to grasp the appearance of a face and see through the heart of a friend or acquaintance?
I also want to ask you: Can you accurately describe the faces of five good friends? Some people can, but many people can't. In an experiment, I asked husbands the color of their wives' eyes. They often look embarrassed and admit that they don't know. By the way, wives always complain that their husbands don't pay attention to their new clothes, the color of their new hats, and the changes in home furnishings.
People with vision, their eyes soon get used to the routine of things around them, and they actually only pay attention to amazing and spectacular things. However, even if they look at the most magnificent landscape, their eyes are lazy. Court records reveal how inaccurate the witness sees every day. An event will be "seen" by several witnesses in several different ways. Some people see more than others, but few people can see everything in their field of vision.
Ah, if you give me three days of light, how many things I will see!
The first day will be very busy. I will invite all my dear friends, look at their faces for a long time and engrave their beautiful external signs in my heart. I will also keep my eyes on a baby's face, so that I can capture that kind of longing and pure beauty before the personal consciousness caused by life conflict is established.
I will also look into the faithful eyes of my puppies-serious and quiet little scottie, lucky, strong and sensible big Dean and Helge. Their warm, childish and naughty friendship gave me great comfort.
On the first busy day, I will also observe the simple gadgets in the room. I want to see the warm color of the carpet under my feet, the paintings on the wall, and the intimate gadgets that turn the house into a home. My eyes will stay piously on the braille books I have read, but those books with printed fonts that people can read will make me more interested. In the long night of my life, the books I have read and read to me have become a brilliant and huge lighthouse, showing me the deepest passage of life and soul.
On the afternoon of the first day I can see, I will go hiking in the forest and let my eyes indulge in the beautiful scenery of nature. In a few hours, I will try my best to absorb the magnificent and vast wonders that are often displayed in front of people with normal vision. On the way back from the forest outing, I will walk on the path near the farm, so that I can see horses plowing in the fields (maybe I can only see a tractor) and carefree people living close to the land. I will pray for the dazzling sunset wonders.
At dusk, I will be glad to see foreign objects with artificial light. When nature announced the arrival of darkness, human beings created light to expand their horizons. On the first night when I have vision, I can't sleep, and my heart will be full of memories of this day.
the next day
Every two days when I have vision, I will get up at dawn and watch the night turn into a moving miracle of day. I will look up at the magnificent panorama of dawn with awe, and at the same time, the sun wakes up the sleeping earth.
On this day, I will take a quick look at the world, past and present. I want to see the miracle of human progress, the endless changes over thousands of years. How can you compress it into one day after so many years? Through the museum, of course. I often visit the new york Museum of Natural History and touch many exhibits on display there, but I am eager to see with my own eyes the brief history of the earth and its inhabitants-animals and humans depicted according to the natural environment, giant dinosaur fossils and saber-toothed elephants, which roamed the earth long before human beings appeared and conquered the animal kingdom with their short stature and powerful brains; The museum also vividly introduces the development of animals, humans and labor tools. Humans use these tools to create a safe and reliable home for themselves on this planet. The museum also introduces countless other aspects of natural history.
I don't know how many readers of the text have seen the various living zoos depicted in that attractive museum. Of course, many people don't have this opportunity, but I believe many people who do have the opportunity don't make good use of it. There is really a good place to use your eyes. You can spend many useful days there with your eyesight, but I can only take a glance with my imaginary three-day eyesight.
My next stop will be the Capital Art Museum, because just as the Natural History Museum shows the material face of the world, the Capital Art Museum shows countless aspects of the human spirit. Throughout human history, human beings' strong desire for artistic expression is almost as urgent as treating food, hiding and reproducing. Here, in the huge exhibition hall of the Capital Art Museum, the spirits of Egypt, Greece and Rome are displayed in their art and presented to me.
I clearly know the gods and goddesses of ancient Nile countries through my hands. I touched the replica of the Parthenon and felt the beauty of the rhythm of the Athens stormtroopers. Apollo, Venus, Samorius, the god of wing-to-wing victory, all make me fondle admiringly. Homer's hairy face is extremely precious to me, because he also knows what blindness is. My hand can't bear to miss Rome and its later period.
Realistic marble carving, my hand touched Michelangelo's moving and heroic Moses stone statue, I felt Rodin's power, and I feared the Goths' devotion to woodcut. These touchable works of art mean a lot to me. However, they are not so much for people to touch as for people to watch. I can only guess the beauty that I can't see. I can appreciate the simple lines of the Greek vase, but I can't see its patterns and decorations.
Therefore, on this day, the second bright day, I want to find the human soul through art, and I want to see what I know through touch. Even better, the whole magnificent painting world will be open to me, from early Italian art with religious roots to modernist art with crazy style. I will carefully observe the oil paintings of Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Rembrandt. I want to appreciate the warm colors of Villone Sa, study the mystery of Al grieco, and re-observe nature from Koro's paintings. Ah, you people with eyes can appreciate such rich meaning and beauty in the art of past dynasties! During my short visit to this art hall, I can't comment on the great art world opened by the people in front of me at all. I will only get a superficial impression. The artist told me that in order to achieve a truly profound artistic appreciation, we must train our eyes. People must learn from experience to judge the quality of lines, composition, form and color. How happy I would be if I had the vision to engage in such fascinating research! However, I heard that for many people with vision, the art world is still a world to be further explored.
I reluctantly left the Capital Art Museum, where the key to beauty was hidden. However, people who can see often need the Capital Art Museum to find the key to beauty. The same key is still waiting on the shelves of smaller museums and even small libraries. However, in the limited visual time in my imagination, I have to choose a key to open the place with the greatest treasure in the shortest time.
On the second night of seeing the light again, I will spend it in the theater or cinema. Even now, I often participate in various performances in the theater, but the plot must be spelled out by my partner. However, how much I want to see Hamlet with my own eyes, I'd better wear Elizabeth.
Vibrant Falstaff and the bright clothes of the times! How I want to see Hamlet's graceful movements and energetic Falstaff's strutting! Because I can only watch one play, which makes me feel embarrassed, because there are dozens of plays I want to watch.
We have vision and can see any scene you like. When you watch a play, a movie or any scene, I don't know how many people know and appreciate a vision that allows you to enjoy its color, beauty and action. Because I know that I can't achieve graceful rhythm in a range limited to touching by hand. But I can only vaguely imagine the beauty of a chin pod lova, although I know a little rhythmic pleasure, because I can often feel the beat of music when it vibrates the floor. I can totally imagine that rhythmic exercise must be the most pleasant sight in the world. I can infer several points by touching the lines of the marble statue with my fingers. If this static beauty can be so lovely, the dynamic beauty you see must be more exciting. One of my most precious memories is that Yue Se Jefferson asked me to touch his face and hands while he was talking and doing his favorite performances.
I can experience a little drama world, and I will never forget the happiness of that moment. However, I am more or less eager to watch and listen to the interaction between dialogue and action in the process of drama performance! And how much happiness can be seen from it! If I can only watch one play, I will know how to describe the plots of nearly 100 plays I have read or studied in Braille letters. So, on my fictional second night of seeing the light again, I didn't sleep well and enjoyed drama literature all night.
the third day
The next morning, I will greet the dawn again, eager to find new happiness, because I believe that for those who can really see, the dawn of every day must be a new beauty that will be repeated forever. According to the deadline of my imaginary miracle, this will be the third and last day I can see. I won't have time to spend on regrets and desires, because there are too many things to see. On the first day, I dedicated my life to my lifeless friend. The next day, I showed the history of human and nature. Today, I will spend my time in the current daily world and go to places frequented by people who are busy with their lives. Where can I find so many activities and situations like new york? So this city became my destination.
I started from my home, a quiet little suburb of Frost, Long Island. Here, surrounded by green grass, green trees and flowers, there are neat little houses, full of happy voices and activities of women and children, very happy, and it is a quiet rest place for working people in the city. I drove across the steel belt bridge across the East River and got a brand-new impression of the strength and originality of the human brain. Busy ships rattle and rush in the river-high-speed ships, slow tugboats with noses. If I can see one day in the future, I will spend a lot of time watching the cheerful scene in this river. I looked ahead, and in front of me stood new york, a strange tall building, located in a city that seemed to have stepped down from myth. What a great building! These splendid church spires, these huge ancient steel banks and slopes-just like what God built for himself. This vivid picture is part of the daily life of millions of people. I wonder how many people will be interested in it; Look back? Very few, I'm afraid. They turned a blind eye to the magnificent scenery because it was all too familiar to them.
I hurried to the top of the Empire State Building, which is a huge building, because not long ago, I looked down at the city with my secretary's eyes, and I was eager to compare my imagination with reality. I believe that all the scenery displayed in front of me will not disappoint me, because it will give me a picture of another world. At this time, I began to travel around the city. First, I stand on a busy street.
Angle, just look at people, trying to rely on their own observation.
Know their lives. Seeing their smiles, I feel happy; I am proud to see their serious decision; Seeing their pain, I can't help feeling sympathy.
I walk along Fifth Avenue. I looked around and turned my eyes to a special goal. I only looked at the kaleidoscope of colorful scenes. I'm sure that the color of women's clothes in those moving crowds must be a gorgeous scenery, which will never bore me. However, if I have vision, I may be like most women-interested in the fashion style of personal clothes and seldom pay attention to a lot of bright colors. And I'm sure I will become a window customer whose habit is hard to change, because it must be a pleasure to see these countless beautiful exhibits.
Starting from Fifth Avenue, I will travel around the city-to Park Avenue, to slums, to factories, to parks where children play, and I will also visit foreign residential areas and make an overseas trip without going out. I always look at the whole scene of happiness and pain with my eyes wide open, so as to investigate deeply and further understand how people work and live.
My heart is full of images of people and things. My eyes never let go of a little thing easily. It tries to pay close attention to everything it sees. Some scenes are pleasant and intoxicating; But some are extremely sad and sad. For the latter, I will never close my eyes, because it is also a part of life. To close your eyes in front of them is to close your heart and mind.
The third day I can see is coming to an end. Maybe there are many important and serious things that need to be seen and done with the rest of the time. However, I am afraid that on the last night, I will go to the theater again to watch a lively and interesting drama and appreciate the homophonic sounds in the human mind.
At midnight, my short time to get rid of the plight of the blind will end, and the eternal night will approach me again. In those short three days, I naturally couldn't see what I wanted.
Everything I saw. Only when the darkness came to me again did I feel how much I had left behind. However, my heart is full of sweet memories, which leaves me little time to regret. After that, I groped for every item, and my memory will clearly reflect the appearance of that item.
How to spend my time; A brief description of the three days of seeing again may not be consistent with the arrangements you made for yourself under the assumption that you are going blind. However, I believe that if you really face that kind of bad luck, your eyes will try to focus on things you have never seen before and store them in your memory for the long night ahead. You will make better use of your eyes than before. Everything you see is so precious to you that your eyes will enjoy everything that appears in your sight. Then, you will really see a beautiful world unfold before you.
Blind I can give a hint to those who can see-a piece of advice to those who can make full use of their natural eyesight: make good use of your eyes as if you would be blind tomorrow. The same method can also be applied to other senses. Listen to the beauty of music, listen to the songs of birds, and listen to the powerful tunes of the orchestra, as if you will be deaf tomorrow. Touch whatever you want, as if your touch will decline tomorrow. Smell the fragrance of all the flowers and taste every mouthful, as if you can't smell or taste it tomorrow. Make full use of every sense, and be proud of all the pleasant and beautiful details that the world has shown you through several means of contact endowed by nature! However, among all the senses, I believe that vision must be the most pleasing to the eye.