A Different Way of Seeing. Helping You Make Sense of the Overwhelm
Browsing Tag
Today it is one year since I started working with my guide dog, Fiji. To mark the occasion I wanted to share with you the greatest gift that Fiji has given me over the past year. I had a meltdown towards the end of my first week of training with Fiji at the SA Guide-Dogs …
I’ve noticed a change at home over the past few months. It was fairly subtle at first, but it’s suddenly become a whole lot more obvious to me – I think Eccles is jealous of Fiji! Eccles is my retired guide dog. She’s now almost 13 years old and, while still in very good health, …
When I was young someone told me that if a dog was sitting half way between two bowls of dog food they would starve because they wouldn’t be able to decide which bowl to go to first. I’ve always had problems with that story – I simply couldn’t believe that a dog wouldn’t just go …
The first time it happened I was waiting to cross a road. A car pulled over to the side of the road and the window was lowered. A lady leaned across from the driver’s seat and asked how long I’d been training guide dogs. Last weekend it happened again. In conversation with my husband, Craig, …
It was our first afternoon in Warsaw, and we were on our way to Łazienki Park, or Royal Baths Park. Every Sunday in summer free piano recitals of Chopin’s compositions are performed at the base of the giant bronze statue of Chopin in the park and we were lucky enough to arrive in Warsaw on …
Recently my guide dog, Fiji, has shown me in no uncertain terms that micromanagement does not work. I’ve always known I preferred being able to control what was happening around me, but had never thought of myself as a control freak… till now. My first lesson in micromanagement happened 5 months ago when we introduced …
It’s just less than 3 months since I started working with my guide dog, Fiji, with all the incredible and liberating changes she has brought to my life. But there is one… shall we say unexpectedly negative consequence of working with Fiji, and that relates to the way I pour a mug of coffee. Yes, …
I admit that I am not the most technologically aware blind person. I may not use all the technology that is available to me (I’ve still not found my way to Twitter), but I manage to do most of the things I need to using technology… with a bit of help from my husband, Craig. …
I’m constantly amazed at the powerful leadership lessons my guide dog, Fiji, has been teaching me since we started working together a few months ago. Most recently, she has shown me how effectively appropriate rewards can stimulate good performance. On one of our regular routes we need to cross a busy road at a pedestrian …
I have been quiet over the past few weeks – not because I’ve had nothing to say, but rather because I have been busy starting a new phase of my life. On 28 February I started working with my new guide dog, Fiji. And over the past month my life has been full of change …