Colours of Life - through the eyes of a blind man

John Forrest David

Description

'The Colours of Life - through the eyes of a blind man' is an astonishing and surprising page-turner of a memoir. Full of unexpected and captivating twists, it is a unique story and a thought-provoking and compelling read.The story of David's life takes you on an odyssey around the globe, and into uncharted territory. His entanglements along the way and the varying decisions forced upon him, brings clarity to his remarkable and upbeat attitude to life.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Memoir

Informations

• Publié par: Distributed by eBookpartnership
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781839785313
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

The Colours of Life -
through the eyes of a blind man
My true life story
David John Forrest


The Colours of Life - through the eyes of a blind man
Published by The Conrad Press Ltd. in the United Kingdom 2022
Tel: [phone]
www.theconradpress.com
[e-mail]
ISBN 978-1-839785-31-3
Copyright © David John Forrest, 2022
All rights reserved.
Typesetting and Cover Design by: Charlotte Mouncey, www.bookstyle.co.uk
The Conrad Press logo was designed by Maria Priestley.


Author’s note
B efore you read my story, I would like to elaborate on my chosen book title. Blindness as we all know, is defined as the inability to see. While I am not visually impaired physically, I have used the term ‘blind’ as a figurative expression to decribe my mental blockage to unfortunate happenings in my life.
You will note through these pages, why I was struck by mental blindness, to the actions of persons within my immediate orbit. But it did not stop there, as I have also always been consciously blind to race, colour, culture, caste and creed, age, sexual orientation and social standing. I believe all of us come from the same place and as such we are all equal, irrespective of who we are.
For all who have been a part of my inner circle, you will know that though I can tell a good tale, I could never put it all together into a story book format.
When you read this story of my life, I want you to know that every incident experienced as well as thoughts, recollections, language, meanings and views expressed are solely mine.
Every aspect of my story has been thoroughly vetted by me personally. Anne has in a totally unbiased way, only helped me to compile and write my story to make sense and bring my world to ‘Life’ in print.
David John Forrest – July 2022


Dedication
F or my (late) parents John (Jack) Forrest and Maria Nicolina Suvali Forrest:
Who could not give me the start in life they would have liked to. But they gave me something far richer. They were instrumental in moulding and making me into the man I am with an abundance of inner strength, ‘titantic’ proportions of ‘self-belief’ and a macro vision of our wonderful but fickle and easily swayed world.
They taught me by example the importance of not only honesty, integrity and respect, but that we are all ‘one people’ and discrimination of any kind, is only in the minds of small minded people and in the eyes of tunnel visioned people.
With all my love till we meet again, your only son.
For all my grandchildren:
To my current grandchildren - I would have loved to have met, known and had you in my life. But you do not even know I still exist. While I may never know you or even get the chance to ever meet and have my future grandchildren in my life, maybe one day you will all read this story of my life’s journey. You will learn about your history as well as the simple and uncomplicated grandfather you never met, who led an unusual and colourful life for just a common man.
Through my life story, you will note from my personal experiences, the mystery about life is the fact we have absolutely no clue as to what cards it will deal us from one day to the next. Yes, the future holds the unknown, but if you don’t take the risk to pursue your dream or anything you love, as well as accept the challenge to explore it, you would hamper your own happiness and stop really living your life.
I have demonstrated that love never sails smoothly, as it occasionally runs into stormy weather and involves making tough decisions. But never let the hurt and disillusionment which are invariably collateral damages of love, to stop you from following your heart, as life is too short to be miserable.
I hope you will try to prepare yourselves for every eventuality. Enjoy and share the good times with family and friends who make you laugh and feel loved, making memories to last your lifetime. At the same time, accept the bad times that will surely cross your path, with inner strength and fortitude.
Don’t ever forget the road ahead is yours alone and though several people may walk it along with you, no one can ever walk it for you. Learn to love all of you first, as unless you love yourself, you will not be able to experience the power of love that comes knocking on your door.
Always make time for your parents as life is unpredictable and one day when you want or need them in your life, they will no longer be around. Do remember your folk who gave you a start in life and come what may, be appreciative of the people who contribute to your life long success.
Whatever life has in store for you, I hope you will always ensure to conduct yourselves with honesty, grace, dignity and respect for all. It is an undisputed fact we will leave our world in the same way we entered it - with nothing. Treat our world well so that our future generations can enjoy it, and never forget the ground we walk on today will ultimately be the roof over us tomorrow.
Finally, may you always be happy, not just because everything in your life is good but because you can see the good side of everything in your life.
With all my love, Grandad


Preface
O ur world to me, is a rainbow that never quite ends with the elusive pot of gold. Just like me, every individual searches for the ultimate life has to offer with the intention of making impossible dreams, possible.
I have realised the journey of our life through this world we call home, can be either a positive or negative one depending on how we look at life; choose to experience it and what we make of it; how we embrace the time we spend living a self-satisfying life; and being the best person we can possibly aim to be while on our spectacular road of discovery.
I was born into a multi-cultural family, and having since travelled and lived in several fantastic countries around our world, I have experienced the various colours of life right from gory through to glory, which not only had positive and negative effects on my life but it affected my view of our world as total figurative blindness impaired me.
Based on my personal experience, I feel our views of the world, its citizens and our life, goes through a series of changes through time, due to individual experiences, perspectives, travel and cultural education, as well as the state of the mind.
I have always led a busy life - working, socialising, travelling and enjoying my family time. But I have never had much personal free time to sit and read a book, get lost in my favourite music, appreciate the view, or just relax and do absolutely nothing.
It is said retirement is the exclusive club you join after years of graft and toil, to wind down and smell the roses. However, I totally disagree as I find since I officially retired, I not only work more, but when I am not working, I am travelling or busy with the odd job I should have done yesterday.
Life works in mysterious ways. The years 2020, 2021 and 2022 we are living through, will definitely go down in infamy as the years that darkened our horizons and changed our world. A world we love, but will never be the same from now going forward. The Covid-19 pandemic which unleashed the greatest infectious disease our world has experienced since the 1918 influenza outbreak, has taken the lives of millions of loved ones, put citizens around our world under strict lockdown for months, changed the way we live, turned our lives topsy turvy, crushed global economies and literally brought our world to a halt, to make me realise that I had many months of lockdown free time to do something I would normally never have attempted.
I never did plan on putting my life out of the confines of my home for all the world to see, as I did not see my life as anything out of the ordinary. But it took a close look into my life by the very savvy woman by my side, to see that what I regard as normal, is actually exciting, adventurous, dangerous, fun, disastrous, crazy, sad, extraordinary and definitely not normal.
Over the past twenty-five years, I have regaled Anne with stories from my colourful past. I would like my memories to communicate an accurate picture of my life as I have no doubt that with the passage of time, I may lose them as they will either fade, or get embellished along the way.
As such, I realised the time has come for me to release the burden from my mind to my eyes, by collating the numerous memories I have been carrying around with me so far, for all of us to see instead. While I hope to be around for a long time, I am writing this story of my life now, as I know it will survive whatever plan God has for me.
Truth is stranger than fiction and there is no doubt that cathartic as it may be, I would certainly prefer to leave out some of my immediate family members, to avoid dredging up and reliving painful memories. However, being family, they are so finely interwoven into the fabric of my life, that my story would never be complete without their inclusion.
For the couple of people on the edge of my periphery, you are enmeshed in my story because you are the ‘Judas Iscariots’ in my life. As you know, I have the hard proof and I hope this story brings you within my orbit so I can finally get my due from you the legal route. However, do not worry, I will ensure you receive the comeuppance you so greatly deserve. I believe truth is a major factor in the accuracy of my life story, and while you may find the truth of my words a bitter pill to swallow, I hope it will energise you to change your life for the better and never use or treat people the way you wronged me.
Through these pages, my readers have the opportunity to glean that just as I learned through my journey, making a hundred friends is no miracle. Like I eventually did, the miracle is finding just a single