Whether speaking before a small group of horse-crazy eight- year olds or a large group of top executives from companies such as Hermès and Rolex, Anastasia‘s story of conquering vision loss has inspired people everywhere.
Her talks focus on perseverance, goal-setting, and, most importantly, the idea of looking deeper into our losses and tragedies, to find the hidden, life-changing gifts within.
“I have been given many extraordinary presents during my long life. But losing my eyesight,” she tells audiences, “is the greatest gift I have ever received.“
Anastasia‘s inspiring speeches are filled with humor and insight. They can be tailored toward any age group or any organization.
An excerpt from one of Anastasia’s talks:
“There was a game we played when I was a kid. Kind of a weird game. You‘d be hanging out with a group of your best pals, maybe sitting on the blacktop during recess, or walking home from school.
And you or your friend would say,
“So would you rather be hit by a car or run over by a horse?“
Weird game, right? Does anyone else here remember playing this weird game? Oh! So you’re weird too. Excellent.
We would continue. “Would you rather lose a leg or an arm?”
And then there’s my personal favorite: “Would you rather be deaf or blind?”
I know the answer. I would rather be blind.
Because of what I learned when I first lost my vision and could see nothing at all, what I have learned in the years since when my vision has slightly improved so that I can now say I’m at the status of being low vision or legally blind rather than completely blind — it all comes down to a gift.
Vision loss, and legal blindness, have been and will remain the most significant and beautiful gifts I have ever received.
Not that I had a choice. Believe me, the day I understood that my crisp 20/20 vision had morphed into some murky thing where I could barely count fingers 5 inches from my face—you can bet that I was looking for A sales clerk to whom I could say, “Oh, excuse me, I’m pretty sure this came to the wrong address. I need to return it.”
Better yet, just hit the delete button.
I wanted no part of this. Funny enough, God didn’t care about my opinions One little teeny weenie itty-bitty bit.
You can almost hear the celestial giggling as I tried to plead and bargain and cajole my way out of that mess.
“Go ahead, Anastasia. Fight this with all your might. But it’s not going away. And fighting it won’t help. Maybe there’s another way.“
And eventually, with no Plan B falling into place, that’s exactly what I did.
I believe that one of the purposes behind facing life-changing events is so that we can then help others. If my story helps you, it gives purpose to my struggle. I think what I’m saying is that I’m using you – – cue the laughter.
I’m sure there are people in this room who are going through something right now. If some of what I learned through vision loss can help you, then I’m on the right track.
So here’s the story of my Plan A really no plan at all, yet somehow it worked.
Maybe some of what I talk about today will help you, too.