Day 12: Pole Dancing

Today marks the start of the fete season which means its all hands on deck for this carni family. Yes we are playing with the big boys in the carnival arena lol...the little pedal go karts up against the dodgem cars and the cobra ride, which we like to call the vomitron as numerous times we have witnessed the regurgitation of the odd dagwood dog, fairy floss mixed with gastric juices flushed out with a can of coke. Yuck! (Sorry if you are reading this over the breakfast table)These seriously dirty men (they look like they have slept on the street for a year due to the grease and filth all over their clothes from setting up this dusty ride equipment) stand and watch our clean cut family roll out the track with amused faces. Three young women(myself included) and a blind man untangling the giant 10x20 metre track. We have not worked out yet, in 5 years, how to pack the darn thing away with out tangling the figure 8 so next time it's easy to set up...first world problems I know! But surely it would be easier to pack away had Dean been able to see as we rolled it all up. Hey these small inconveniences don't get this man or his family down. It's just life and it's normal to us. It does crest a very entertaining sight for these fellas in side show ally. 
Go Kart Wild The Blindmans Business

The giant inflatable pedal go kart wild track

Deano packing up the track in the dark

On our way to the event we received an interesting phone call from Deano's brother who is also blind. Lorin who is an accomplished musician in his own right had been reading my blog and was amused at some of the recollections and every day incidences I have captured in writing. Lorin tours Australia and internationally with his guitar playing prowess and captivates audiences all over the world with his ability to play the instrument as good as any sighted man. Considering he can't read music his passion for the arts has lead him to speak to millions of people worldwide and play for world leaders in the industry, banking, religious, and education and other corporate sectors that have been inspired by his story. 
Lorin playing Sailing North For Balcony TV


For Lorin his path has been similar to Dean's in that he chose when he was a teenager what his life was going to be like. Both men when they were young decided they were not going to be victims of the system. These men were a product of the upbringing of their parents who never let anything stop them from accomplishing their dreams and both men never said no. 
Lorin Nicholson Motivation Speaker

"It's interesting" Lorin  commented that some people decide that they can't do things and then of course it doesn't happen. Life doesn't change for people with this mindset. It's not all about the dream either, it's about taking action massive action and making a plan always helps you create a path of discovery for yourself. With these three forces in play you are unstoppable." 

As the day went on I pondered on Lorin's words about having an attitude of success. But I also reflected on one other trait that i feel is super important. What comes into mind when you think of the word Focus? Particularly if you say that word to a visually impaired person. I have said it before in previous posts and I will say it again "where your focus goes energy flows". 

My blind man has always had the strange ability walk into street poles. It can be the only lamp post in the street and he will manage to walk into it. Even if I park right out of the way of a of those hard metal  or sometimes lopped wood trees holding up the wires for our electricity, or walk on the opposite side of the road to the poles, the moment he starts making his move it's as if these poles grow legs and jump out in front of him. I used to think it was Murphy's law...you know the law that states that if it's going to happen it is typical that it will happen to you...well that's how I would see this odd occurrence of Dean walking into poles...just Murphy's Law happening. But I now know it deeper than that. Because Deano has been visually impaired since birth he admitted to me recently that he feared walking into these hard objects on the street. So therefore doesn't it make sense if he is focusing on his fear as we go out for a stroll he will find what he fears the most...usually with his head! Ouch!  

The lesson I have come to learn from these men is that they have the amazing ability to teach us lessons in so many ways . Through the blessing of not being able to see, whether you see that as a blessing or not, I have been taught the power of resilience, determination, the power of having a positive outlook and a plan that's put into action and that if I  focus on what I want, not what I fear I can do anything. Oh! One more thing I need make sure I have a hard head when I do make a mistake and walk into a pole! Yes these are truly intense thoughts but I like to look at life as the great John Bonjovi one of my favourite musicians sang "It's my life, it's now or never" and I shouldn't waist a minute more, because  "I just want to live while I'm alive"
It's my Life Bon Jovi