English Wordplay ~ Listen and Enjoy
HELEN KELLER 1880-1968
I felt that my physical restraints were unjust - even though I know now they were things I chose to experience.
An American author, political activist and lecturer.
She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
The story of how Keller's teacher, Annie Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become known worldwide through the play and film The Miracle Worker.
Keller was outspoken in her opposition to war.
She campaigned for women's suffrage, workers' rights, and socialism.
| PETER | In what ways did your mind and body compensate for your lack of hearing and sight? |
| HELEN | My body got used to being bruised. (LAUGHS) I became very aware of feeling and touch. It got to a point where I could sense some things energetically. If I was getting close to a wall, I could feel the vibration sent off by that wall, not unlike sonar. |
| PETER | How does that experience compare with the communication you make at Home, where you don't use your eyes or ears? |
| HELEN | The kind of communicattion we have here is, as some of your movies show, a type of extra-sensory perception, or clairvoyance, or thought projection.. |
| PETER | You chose a life with an enormous challenge. Are souls sometimes overwhelmed by the experiences they request? |
| HELEN | A soul cannot be overwhelmed in its purest form. The physical sense of being out of control is part of the lesson. |
Toni comments: Helen's powerful soul energy made me feel that I was being lectured. I felt her frustration that others, without her disabilities, would not fully understand what inner strength can create within the human experience.
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