Three Days to See by Helen Keller

Helen Keller's Three Days To See

As individuals we tend to value life more if and when we come close to losing it. We become conscious of its loss we are bombarded with the things associated with the things we have lost. In Helen Keller's Three Days to See [1933] for example one observes that she relates her blindness to the things that she misses because she is blind. A walk in the woods [Keller 1933] can be as exhilarating for her as one would experience an adventure rafting through white water river. The fact of the matter is that exhilaration for one a person with full senses differ from the ones who is deprived because he/she values it more.

Similarly, the emotional associations that one has with socialization also depend on how much one value it. A friend cannot be as dear unless he/she become distanced; interaction becomes impossible. The heart grows fonder only when one recalls of memories of interactions that cannot be replicated. While those we can see, touch and feel are not appreciated because of their nearness and our presumption that they will be there whenever we feel like meeting them. Keller [1933] for example notes how acquaintances on a regular basis have less value than those friends whose memories and association we cherish because they are physically near to us. She writes:

How much easier, how much more satisfying it is for you who can see to grasp quickly the essential qualities of another person by watching the subtleties of expression, the quiver of a muscle, the flutter of a hand." [Keller 1933].

We react in such manners because we are very much dependent on our senses to bridge the gap that the emotions and physical nearness have. The realization of the value of relationships from the physical closeness thus largely depend on how much we rely on our senses to guide us, to value things in life and pay attention to the intricacies inherent in our daily activities.