If I am standing on the other side of an average-sized room, my friend J can't see me.
Justin Thomas Salas is a legally blind individual who lives in what he calls "a world made for people with sight." One of the first times we hung out, we went rock climbing. If that does not scream to you the bold essence of this young man's fearless character, sit back down and pour yourself another--because there's plenty more coming that will.
"Lacking vision only makes you look harder," he explained, while also maintaining perfect eye contact with me. J has trained himself to be able to look at you in the face when in conversation by reading your body language out of his undamaged peripheral vision and by closely pinpointing the direction of your voice.
What J has also taught himself to do is operate a camera and excel as a photographer and videographer above the abilities of most of those who have their vision. He did not begin the hobby until after he lost his sight. "I wanted to capture things through my perspective," he stated humbly. "The only thing that is different [from having complete sight] is how I operate."
Justin's blindness was not the result of any sort of accident or a sudden occurrence he woke up to one morning, but rather a gradual loss that snuck up on him like a ghost and slowly robbed him over the course of several years - the doctors could only call it optic neuropathy of unknown origin. By the time J was 15, he was considered legally blind.
He told me that the biggest loss to him at the time was knowing he would never be able to drive. Now at 21, when considering his future, J admits, "It's pretty upsetting to sit down and think about. My fleshly desires make me want to determine my future for myself. But wanting and wishing for the future is sinful and us simply trying to take our lives into our own hands instead of trusting the Lord."
Amongst many other limitations he is faced with daily, J is unable to read the items on a menu or the pages in a book. He cannot see the ink well enough to write his name in a straight line. "But being forced to rely on other people for things has taught me humility," J said.
If you passed Justin on the street or caught sight of him in his element, you would curse me and think this article was a lie. Not only does he not appear as one who is blind, but does not convey the behavior of one either. Aside from rock climbing and defeating all odds with a camera, J can be found bossing the streets on a longboard and pulling off stunts doing bicycle motorcross. He stated figuratively, "There are always going to be hurdles to jump, but instead of jumping, why not walk around? We're all broken people, but there's always a way around."
Nothing, not even the lack of sight, holds Justin Salas back and the life of extreme adventure pulls him forward, confidently and courageously. "Where else would I go?" he replied after being asked about his reasoning behind pursuing a journey trusting in God. "I wouldn't have the courage to do this [life] without Christ. And I want to show people the things I do to let them know they can, too."
If there are somehow only two words in this story that are able to inspire you, then I hope it these following two-- a simple reply J answered with upon my asking why he has chosen such a wild and fearless life. His response was both humble and silencing, enough to have cast a hush across the cafe we sat in if everyone in there was only able to hear it. Consider these two words the next time a giant comes to hold you back. When I asked him why, the blind man answered,
"Why not?"
