Frugal Beautiful

It can be so easy to be discouraged when life throws us some obstacles- it’s easy to react with anger, to shut down, to completely let emotion take hold of us. We can’t control what happens to us in life, but we can control how we react to it. Innovation can sometimes come with trying to work through frustration and happiness can come from taking the reigns of a disheartening situation.

John Bramblitt is a man who went blind in his late 20’s due to Epilepsy. Of course, at first he was angry and shut down- not wanting to leave the house- a normal reaction. But after a time, he started to discover that there were things he loved, which he could still do as a person with blindness, but it would take some adaption and some time to learn new ways to read and “see.” Truly, it’s inspiring to see his innovation through difficult circumstances and his persistence to adapt to a new way of doing things.

While it could be argued that he’s just “painting by the lines,” the patience, training and persistence it would take to even accomplish something like this, in a medium not truly adapted for the blind is extraordinary.  People who downplay his ability to paint seem to overlook the core of why this is inspiring- he was able to innovate and create despite a condition that would normally completely discourage the average person. Without sight, I couldn’t even pick a design to paint, much less find the supplies I needed or mix colors for a canvas!

He must think and approach every activity completely differently in order to accomplish what he wants.  It’s difficult and new, but he is able to make his desires happen and do what he loves by using a different approach.

I think the videos speak for themselves: