Vision Beyond Sight

Helen Keller

Essay Question: Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” What does that mean to you?

Vision Beyond Sight

Helen Keller's words remind us that the greatest tragedy is not the lack of sight, but the lack of vision. Sight is a passive sense; it lets us register what is right in front of us. Vision is active; it allows us to see what could be, to imagine possibilities that go beyond the visible, and to take deliberate steps toward them.

I have encountered people who see perfectly, who waver about in the world, and blind individuals who have a kind of sight that truly inspires. Imagination, courage, and determination are the true progenitors of vision. Such vision sets one on a path, and it makes one almost unstoppable in the pursuit of the passion that such vision incites.

Sight has taken me through life's most challenging trials: loss, disability, and discrimination. It took me through watershed moments of legal fighting, like my part in the U.S. Supreme Court case Gonzales v. Raich, and powered community work that turned projects that said "No" to people with disabilities into ones that said "Yes". When some saw what amounted to a brick wall in front of them, I was able to see right through it.

Having a vision means selecting a goal and moving resolutely toward it—while helping other people to achieve their own goals. Vision is the art of seeing what is possible and making it happen. Some leaders have sight but no vision; those with true vision are leaders by nature, inspiring others through action and example.

Keller sends a clear and powerful message: If you have sight but not vision, it is wasted. Vision takes the act of merely looking and transforms it into something far greater. The art of understanding. The act of creating. The act of improving in life and the world. When you embrace vision, it becomes unstoppable. And understand this: I have learned to be invincible.

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