Now I know all of you have done this, so don’t even pretend otherwise. I just totally cried watching Oprah. Not the ugly kind of heaving cry, but the can’t stop the tears welling, rolling down cheeks cry. Oh, goodness if you watched today especially, you know.

The guest that made me cry could not do so himself. He was born without eyes and grew up to be an accomplished musician who currently plays for his university marching band with the help of his father. Now, I won’t get this verbatim, but this is what he said to Oprah:

“I really think the people who can see have the disability. I can’t see people’s hair, I can’t see their clothes, and I can’t see their skin. To me, black or white isn’t something I can see, all I can see is the love that comes from inside them.”

Can you imagine how liberating that would be, not to mention the impressive glass-half-full perspective this young man has? It’s made a particular impression on me, relating to the ’disability’ he mentions. Maybe it is a hindrance to see what people look like. He likened it to a barrier to discovering what is inside. I had just been reflecting today how facades, physical and perpetuated, become impediments to getting to know someone, from getting to the place where we can truly appreciate who a person is.

Too many times, have we not become friends with people based upon looks, relatable socioeconomic status, the frequency at which we appear at the same parties? How would it be to be blind to precociousness and to see a person for who they really are? Or else to stop wasting time testing the waters, bragging, checking our hair, and just get right to the good stuff: the confessions, the goofiness, the shared loves and laughs. I believe the people I love today would be equally as beautiful to me if I had never seen their faces.

Thanks cable TV and the wonders the Oprah show brings me. I swear, people, if that show doesn’t make you cry a little once in awhile, you’ve got your heart behind concrete walls.