One of the little known and not often used secrets to life is the power of reflection. It is a tool I use religiously in writing, during times of doubt or depression. It is an imperative resource I have used as my life’s evolution has forced me to reinvent myself in order to survive and thrive. Below this article is a photo of my wife and I. It is a scene that if you know us, if you have spent time with us, would be as familiar to you as the air you personally breathe. My left hand on her right shoulder. She playfully would tell people that she was my “Seeing Eye Girl.” Most would respond that they didn’t know where she started and I began because we were always connected, tethered together, my anchor, holding me steady as I maneuvered through and around this big blue marble. Sure, I had stand-ins, friends and family and the occasional business client that would be my shepherd. However, my wife owned that role in my life and she never complained, lamented my need for her, she was grace in action. This was true until a couple of years back when a technology came along that would free her from the duties she had faithfully committed to. This technology would cut that tether, liberate both her and myself, allow me to be independent, to navigate and explore the world I had lost all those years ago when I went blind. Of course I am talking about the groundbreaking, disruptive technology of Aira.
With Aira as the new tool in my mobility arsenal, I have had the opportunity to travel, to lecture at Universities, speak at conventions, present to corporate entities around the country, participate in print interviews as well as broadcast interviews. All because of the freedom Aira has afforded me. It has opened doors that have been either closed or too distant for me to comfortably attend solo. Whenever I speak, I begin my remarks by asking a few very simple questions to stimulate the conversation and advance the discussion when it comes to dealing with accessibility, disability, diversity and inclusion and the role society plays to help level the playing field for those who may be blind or have low vision issues. I begin my remarks by asking, “How many blind people do you see on a day to day basis in your life, be it at the store, your place of employment, attending school or your house of worship, out and about at the movies or a concert or other entertainment venue? The answer is generally a very low number. I follow up that question by then asking, “How many Blind or low vision individuals do you think there are right here in your own country?” Most people don't even come close to the real number of conservatively 22 million. Right here in my home state of Texas there are over 702,000. The natural progression of the conversation moves to asking those I am speaking to, “Why is it that with numbers this large, do you not see more than perhaps the few you mentioned when answering the initial question?”
A slight disclaimer of sorts before continuing. I never want to be misleading in anything I write or have the opportunity to speak about. These are strictly my observations an experiences. I do not speak for anybody but myself, however, I can safely say that my experiences as someone who is blind are not unique, many people see and feel the world and this reality as I do. If you are in fact someone who has hacked the visual impairment Rubik’s Cube and are the “Boss” when it comes to navigating and dealing with life with no thought towards adding tools to your mobility toolbox, then I congratulate you for the exceptional person that you are. However, if you are like me, someone who has recognized or is in the process of discovering the tools for my journey on the path of life lived with a visual impairment then consider the lessons and value of Aira as what I consider to be an invaluable tool to augment your mobility toolbox.
Part of becoming recognized as an equal and valued participant in society is to begin the journey out of the shadows. I am comfortable with that statement because it is backed up by the above mentioned numbers and the countless opportunities I have had to interact with people who had no idea the prolific numbers of blind and visually impaired individuals. This translates to a need to discover new ways to become mobility free and less dependent on what I call and what is pictured below, my seeing eye partner. Cutting the tether that is a hand on a shoulder, the gentle touch of someone’s hand on your elbow or the need to ask for assistance when out in the world is the first step to showing society at large that you own your life, that you are in fact self-reliant. Detractors will say at this point that Aira is assistance and while that is in fact true there is something missing when that argument is raised. Perception being reality is a long held truth, Aira is an assistive tool, the key is that to the general public it has the power to alter ones perception of the blind. Once the tether is cut between humans and guide dogs, you are left with a blind person armed with only a cane and something we all carry around, sighted or blind, a smartphone. This is key because as I have traveled the country, lived my day to day life grocery shopping, going to the movies, picking up my dry-cleaning and all the other things that we do, my reception within society has changed profoundly. People have begun to see me not as a blind person, but as a person. Neighbors and many strangers who were uncomfortable interacting with me in the past now include me in on events and conversations. The transition has been awkward at times and finding ways to gently brush people off who want to help or are emphatic about assisting me because I am blind and they assume there is no way possible I can navigate, shop, operate with what they see as only a cane. After all, what would you think if you saw a blind person holding up a gallon of milk looking for an expiration date? That is a task Aira is uniquely capable of doing, sure my wife tethered to me could do the same but where is the independence in that? And I have yet to see a guide dog read a menu or inspect an expiration date. Thus, perception is being changed, the dynamic between the sighted and the blind and the stigma that has followed has the potential to be shattered. Aira is not the solution, it is not the only tool that someone who is blind or visually impaired needs in their toolbox. However, I submit that it is the piece of technology that has the potential to blur the lines between the blind and the sighted. This is especially true with technologies like 5G, advancements in integrating Smart Cities and the potential technological explosion that AI will bring.
Change is scary, most meet the prospect of change with a healthy dose of fear coupled with skepticism and a litany of reasons why we should just accept the status quo, do things the way they have always been done. Burying your head in the sand and accepting the status quo is why in the year 2020 the blind and low vision remain sitting on the outside of advancing, climbing the ladder to independence. Skeptical? Fail to see my point? My community has an unemployment rate that dwarfs most groups. We experience and have experience historically an unemployment rate of over 65%, and that is a conservative number. Looking at all of the data for the blind reveals we are missing out on job opportunities, educational opportunities, being accepted and active in social opportunities outside those we have within our community, and so much more. Accepting the status quo has not served my community and as we move into a hyper modern age it is time to cut the tether, suffer a little separation anxiety from those antiquated tools and physical connections that we have clung to. To be clear, those tools will always remain as valuable and necessary tools in our mobility toolbox. However, we can no longer look to others to solve what they perceive is a problem. Instead, it is incumbent on us to shift the perceptions that exist. We need to adapt in order to thrive. My father taught me as a very young man that if you wait for the world to adapt to you, you will remain paralyzed, experience no forward momentum and consequently accomplish little to nothing. Instead, my father taught me to never accept the status quo, to always seek out the new, adapt to my new reality rather than wait Infor my current reality to somehow magically adapt to me. Aira has been yet another tool I have added to my mobility toolbox. As we take those bold steps away from our creature comforts that have held us in place towards the new innovations and the new technological frontier I am sure the future is bright. I also believe that those who are capable, comfortable and thriving in spite of what I hope will become a quaint notion, blindness, will not just survive, but thrive, free to live their authentic life without the stigmas or labels of a past that was but is no more. As for now, keep your able eyes peeled for me as I boldly and unapologetically rock my tech moving me ever closer to a world that doesn't see someone as blind or disabled, they just see themselves reflected back at them as they look into the lens of a tech advancing a cause. It is ok, cut your tether, come to understand what I have learned, my shoulder, that elbow that once guided me is never far away, just in case.
My challenge today is to visit aira.io and read about this tech and some of the transformational and inspirational experiences of those Aira calls “Explorers”. Visit the App Store on your iPhone and search Aira, download the app, it’s free., If you are a an Android user, do the same. Begin experiencing, experimenting and exploring a world that is just outside your door. What do you have to lose? It is a free download and free to use. You can make unlimited 5 minute calls to begin exploring your new world. The live, highly trained agents will answer any and all questions you might have. Visit Aira’s Access Partner locations like Target, Walgreens, Wegmans Grocers, Universities across the country Bank of America, Mass Transit Authorities over 50 Airports, Malls and yes, even the entire city of Miami Beach Florida, a smart City that has integrated Aira to be used by anybody, anytime, anywhere in the city, free. There are many other locations that are free, free to spend as much time as you desire. There are no more excuses, there is only wondering why not? Wondering rather than wandering a new unexplored path, pondering rather than participating. What are you waiting for!
**Picture below is me on the right side of the frame with my right hand holding a white cane and my left hand on Kelly’s (my wife) shoulder as she helps guide me on a walk to White Rock Lake in Dallas.
