Khalid Latif – A Blind Woman Taught Me How to See
AI: Summary ©
The speaker advises the audience to be affirming themselves and not just acknowledge the limitations of reality. They stress the importance of learning from the stories of people who see themselves and not just through their appearances. The speaker also emphasizes the need for affirmation and growth in one's personal growth.
AI: Summary ©
Man, how short am I? A blind woman
just told me I'm short.
So we had a conversation for a few
moments. And as we wrapped up, this young
woman who was blind, she couldn't see. She
said to me, you know, I thought you'd
be a lot taller.
I said, what?
And she said, your voice, it's not coming
from up here,
but it's coming from down here.
And I said, oh.
And one of my students you
understand
Do you understand?
And sometimes, we take the most simplistic
level of understanding
because all we're seeing is what it is
that we see,
but we're not getting to the depth of
certain realities.
How you see people is not indicative of
who they
are, but how you see people will tell
you a lot about yourself.
And if you perceive somebody solely through the
way that they dress, the color of their
skin, whether they have a certain accent or
not,
the fundamental question you have to ask yourself
is why do you see it that way?
Your organs of sensory perception, they are not
limited to the eyes that you see with,
the ears that you hear with, the tongues
that you taste with, the hands that you
touch with, even the minds that you think
with.
But you have a primary organ of cognition
that will synthesize all of this information as
it goes into you in various ways.
If you don't know why it's processing in
the way that it is,
it's just gonna regurgitate the same challenges that
we see day in and day out.
Do you get what I'm saying?
Our deepest strengths are not when we are
apart,
but only when we come together in ways
that we uniquely can.
And this is imperative to be able to
reflect upon now because in your work, you
will have full opportunity
to decide who it is that you will
serve and who it is that you will
not serve.
And you have to ask yourself today,
what will somebody need to look like for
me to not be there for them?
What color of skin will they need to
have? What will the texture of their hair
need to be? What part of the world
will they need to come from so that
my education,
my training,
my skills
will not be used for their benefit?
What allows for the perpetration But
so many more of us who have the
ability to do something about it,
But so many more of us who have
the ability to do something about it,
we simply sit back and do nothing.
Don't hold back what it is that you
have the unique ability to offer.
That's the kind of goodness you want to
be able to harness.
Today, make an affirmation that your growth as
you move forward on every tomorrow that you
see will not be by understanding the other
only through preconceived ideas and notions, but you
will learn the stories of those that are
different from you by actually being with them.
To take time to understand that what it
is that we are fed is not often
what is reality,
And the gain will not be only for
those that will benefit from your presence,
but your perspectives will broaden in ways that
you can't even imagine.
May you be protected always from hearts that
are not humble, tongues that are not wise,
and eyes that have forgotten to cry. You
might be the only one that is standing
when everyone else is seated.
You might be the only one that is
speaking when everyone else is silent.
But you might be that critical voice, that
critical body that ignites what is needed for
everyone else to get going. Go forward and
be the reason that people have hope in
this world.