There is a small fact of life that is frequently overlooked. Here it is. Just because doing something isn't complicated, doesn't mean that doing it is easy or simple. This important point definitely applies to doing without seeing.

The tips and strategies for doing without seeing that I have discussed so far on Blind How have not been particularly complicated. Nonetheless, adding each tip or strategy to our personal skill set is far from easy or simple. They require a degree of attention, concentration and practice that can seem to be unreasonable and hardly worth the effort. On any given occasion, they are hardly worth the bother – and they are a lot of bother at times.

Here is the issue. Those of us who can't see have limited options. Either we go to the bother of incorporating the tips and strategies into our skill set, or we are permanently disabled, unable to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. The things we want to do are either off the table or left to the discretion and good will of people who can see.

We each get to choose; and I'm assuming that you are choosing to do for yourself, whenever you can, as much as you can.

In the last episode of Blind How, I focused on walking around our homes or living areas. The strategy is to start with our mental map of our area. It's not a one and done kind of thing. We continue to improve our mental map by adding and correcting the details. The more time we spend in the area, the more detailed and the more accurate our mental map gets.

I also pointed out that a good strategy for moving around is to get into the habit of walking from known point to known point. I call those points "landmarks." The idea is to take a moment to make sure you are facing the next landmark before starting to walk. Now walk directly toward that landmark. In your home, this strategy is important, but once you go outside, it becomes critical. Practicing at home is your best bet for safely mastering the technique.

If options were limited to following our mental maps, walking around would be difficult but doable. The good news is that we can do better than simply relying on our mental maps. In the last episode of Blind How, I mentioned paying attention to the floor. Notice when you step on a rug or when the floor changes from carpet to wood. The idea is that changes in the floor surface become additional landmarks on our mental maps. The same notion will apply outside when the surface where we are walking changes.

I also mentioned touching things. Keeping our hands up helps us touch things before banging into them, but also helps us identify landmarks in our environments such as chairs, walls and appliances.

The added tip for this episode of Blind How is listening. Along with touching and feeling, your home or living area makes sounds. Where I live, the furnace just turned on. I also hear the ice maker in the refrigerator. Different areas make different sounds, letting me know a little more about where I am at any particular time. The traffic sounds are outside in front of the house, the birds are chirping outside the back door, and on and on. My living environment is not loud but is noisy, and yours likely is too. Again, listening becomes even more important when we leave our familiar environments and venture into unfamiliar outside and inside spaces.

Here's what I think is an especially useful tip. Leave a radio or TV playing whenever you are at home and awake. Along with being auditory company, the sound is a consistent and continuous landmark that you can use from most anywhere in your living area. I've done this for a long time and am still surprised at times by how helpful the sound is, particularly when I become momentarily disoriented now and then. If you don't already do this, give it a try.

Do you have a tip for other Blind How listeners?