5 Full Steam Ahead

Blind Walk thoughts

The idea was fresh and interesting; I didn't understand why Armen is willing to spend so much time and energy carrying this responsibility for a stranger.

My curiosity drove me to want to understand more about the project and its purpose. I recalled memories in my past life, the fight of miscommunication and misunderstandings; humanity and the world. It motivated me very much to look forward to this experience.

Darkness covered my brain, heart started to jump faster, the ceremony began. Every step felt like a ladder. I was ready to fall anytime. Very soon, I caught a light. The light was so strong, so bright and so powerful, I became relaxed. The touch and voice from the light was full of trust and protection. I was so surprised how fast I completely let myself go. Every part of me was in an entirely different world - peaceful, small, simple and joyful. There was no worry, no destination, and no fear. My inner energy was extremely active. Every object surrounding me became foreign, but the excitement and satisfaction of discovering kept me releasing all of the pain and sadness from underneath my heart. The voice of the city: cars, people and the pressure of the objects became my second guide. I was starting to research the world through my body. I was taking an adventure through my feeling and touch. I was discovering another side of beauty through the passion of my light.

Armen encouraged me to explore myself more. More challenges arrived: stairs - up and down, little jumps, plus my other personal challenge which were the high heels I was wearing. Everything in me was unfolding. I was conscious, concentrated, and aware, and Armen was even more conscious, more concentrated, and more aware than me. His lead made my stair journey easier than I thought it would be. Here comes the jump. I didn't know and couldn't see or touch the distance. The only stability I received was the generous protection and sincere trust from Armen. I gave my hands to him, j-u-m-p.

Armen's bright energy spread to me. My inner energy continued, exploring, exploring. I was climbing a statue freely, was following Armen's sound to catch his hand. I felt I was a little kid, single-minded, playing a catching game. The power of sound directed me and helped me catch him. Armen let me walk on the sidewalk with tiny, gentle touches once in a while to keep me on track. I followed his lead, like dance. No, it wasn't like dance, it was dance. Armen danced around me, I danced around him and other passers danced around us. We all danced together. All of a sudden everything was united in one big picture. We all connected with each other. The beauty of this art inspired me and I wanted to speed up the melody. I wanted my soul to travel, to fly, to cross the Pacific and to arrive in heaven with peace. I followed the light from inside of me and the light from Armen. We were running and running with laughter. I felt I am absolutely safe.

When my eyes were free, the natural light woke me up. Reality was welcoming me back, although I wasn't ready yet.

Then it was time to switch turns. After covering Armen's eyes, I found a different personality altogether. From the very beginning, the pressure of objects hardly made him stand straight. He focused on recognizing every object around him by his other senses. He could tell when a person passed, and if it was a man or a woman, by his careful listening. After a short while he walked at a normal pace, and at times I even forgot he was blind. He was extremely conscious and curious. He looked like a five year old kid. He lost his sense of security. He climbed everything his feet could reach. He walked straight forward into the busy street. It was great, delightful, to see the beauty of releasing into a natural state of being. At the same time, watching his actions helped me understand the way I was blind. Some of what he did was exactly what I did; perhaps I looked only 3 years old instead of 5. When he was leading me, everything I did felt like a big project but actually they were just very basic small movements which every normal child can easily do.

Every time when Armen approached the target I wanted, the satisfaction of every right step he made was hard to describe. I didn't realize that precise touch was so important. Once, my poor leading method stopped him one step too early. My carelessness came to visit us too. I assumed Armen would know to make a tiny step without my direction, but he almost fell down. I was moved when he was about to fall, because of the trust he invested in me. The responsibility I was entrusted with became heavy and deep, and there is no way to weigh or measure how that felt.

The entire experience definitely touched the string of my heart. The ceremony ended. The beauty of the art stayed with me. Experiencing the world through my body was amazing. Discovering myself through a new experience and other people was very special too. Appreciating the beauty of human nature was very valuable.

Seattle, Washington
by way of China