Blind people describe how they see beauty: 'Losing my sight has been a blessing'

 (Photo: Sias van Schalkwyk)

In "Beauty Through the Eyes of the Blind," presented by Buzzfeed, several visually impaired people explain the few images they are able to see, and also describe their definition of beauty.

The inspirational video features each person alone in a dark room, facing the camera. They are not identified by name.

One man begins by describing what he sees when he closes his eyes.

"I see a gentle light. I have no concept of the color," he says. He then expresses what "beauty" means to him.

"Real simple things. Opening my eyes in the morning, and listening to birds outside my window chirping. It's a feeling that I'm alive."

A visually impaired woman gives her definition of beauty.

"Character, personality, the way people carry themselves," she says. "Some people can be very pretty and beautiful inside."

"I think beauty is experience," a younger gentleman continues. "The smell of warm, baked cookies, the warm breeze against your skin, the feel of grass underneath your feet when you're walking in the front yard."

Another woman also expresses the beauty in everyday moments that many abled people take for granted.

"Going by the beach and sitting by the shore, to me, is beauty," she states. "Just imagining what the ocean looks like, and what the sky looks like, that's beauty for me."

She also communicates the heightened stimulations that visually impaired people experience because of the loss of one of their senses.

"At times it can be overwhelming because when you're blind, your life consists of nothing but feelings. Every day is a feeling."

Not having to contend with physical distractions and only experiencing the inner beauty of other people is described as a gift by several "Beauty Through the Eyes of the Blind" speakers.

"I feel that losing my sight has been a blessing," one man says. "I don't care what nationality somebody is. I don't care how tall somebody is, I don't care how big or small they are. A person is beautiful because they are true to themselves."

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