This weekend marked seven years since I lost my sight. 84 months, 364 weeks, 2,555 days. What happened was an operation to remove a tumour was beset with complications that destroyed my optic nerves and very nearly killed me. It occurred to me on the weekend that, despite the hardships I endured during 6 months of recovery, somewhere along the way, I learned how to just be a person living my life, seeing what I see and feeling what I feel.

At five years old, I have the world at my feet. I’m smart. I’m cute. I have a stutter. Being at the bottom of the pecking order in a big family I have the determined “I can do it myself!” attitude. I want everyone to know that there are things I know and opinions I have. Needless to say, an appreciation of the value of beginner’s mind did not come to me until much later in life.

Rigidity ruins resiliency. Yours and other’s. Loosen your grip on standard operating procedures and tighten connections with the real people around you.

Like the continuous hairline in the picture, the past few years have had their ups and downs and, if it is possible, we have been brought even closer by the adversity that we have seen each other through. Just like the title of the picture says, we belong together. Why? Because each of us is stronger and more resilient with the support of the others. All those shared eyes? They also share a vision of adapting to whatever life throws our way. And we know we’ll make it a reality if we keep supporting each other.