Last weekend I took my kids to Spaceship Park, which has a beautiful view of the entire LA basin. The spaceship is pretty tough to climb and wouldn’t pass a safety test to be built these days.

I watched a 20 something guy very awkwardly reach the top, and struggling a lot to descend. I was wondering what his deal was and then I noticed that he had a friend giving directions on the ground, on the other side of it.  Suddenly I realized he was blind. My initial, judgmental thoughts about him changed (oops!) and I realized how brave he was, especially as he went down a big slide without the gift of sight, falling and tumbling into the darkness, not even knowing when his feet would hit the ground.

It made me so thankful that I could see the beautiful blue sky, the city and sea below us, and mountains in the distance.  Climbing that spaceship would be easy for me and yet I was the one on the ground.  I was impressed with his bravery and his determination to enjoy life. It also made me wonder what things in life I’m blind to, what beauty that I don’t see or appreciate, even though it’s right there in front of me.

An interesting lesson for me on gratitude, learning to be less judgmental, learning to let go and lighten up, and a new insight on what “vision” really means.