--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a terrible thing to see and have no…" description: "\"It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.\" — Helen Keller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45a/helen-keller-429_blind_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-n_1196418.png" --- # It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision. ![“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” quote by Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45a/helen-keller-429_blind_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-n_1196418.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45a/helen-keller-429_blind_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-n_1196418.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45a/helen-keller-429_blind_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-n_1196418.png) > “It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lack of vision—whether literal or metaphorical—hinders progress and understanding. **In simple terms:** Seeing clearly is essential for action. Key Takeaway Cultivate both physical and mental sight. Themes disability perception motivation Mood motivational empathetic Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - education - accessibility - leadership development Key Concepts vision awareness empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How do we support those lacking vision? - What does “vision” mean beyond sight? A Different Perspective Vision alone isn’t enough without willpower. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [Its' a terrible thing to see and have no vision - Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-baines/its-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-no-vision-helen-keller/) Angie Baines > [It's one thing to see a vision; it's another thing to be seized by a vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hybels/it-s-one-thing-to-see-a-vision-it-s-another-thing-to-be-seized-by-a/) [Bill Hybels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hybels/) > [This is the most terrible thing that can happen in a friendly country if Thai people have to escape from the backdoor of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thaksin-shinawatra/this-is-the-most-terrible-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-friendly-country/) [Thaksin Shinawatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thaksin-shinawatra/) > [“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight and no vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-only-thing-worse-than-being-blind-is-having-sight-and-no-vision/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [It is better to have no sight than it is to have no vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/it-is-better-to-have-no-sight-than-it-is-to-have-no-vision/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The terrible thing about being an actor is that it's not a solo occupation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-coyote/the-terrible-thing-about-being-an-actor-is-that-it-s-not-a-solo/) [Peter Coyote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-coyote/) > [Without publicity a terrible thing happens: nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-barnum/without-publicity-a-terrible-thing-happens-nothing/) [P. T. Barnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-barnum/) > [The expectation of an unpleasantness is more terrible than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-bashkirtseff/the-expectation-of-an-unpleasantness-is-more-terrible-than-the-thing/) [Marie Bashkirtseff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-bashkirtseff/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The worst calamity: 'To have eyes and fail to see.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-worst-calamity-to-have-eyes-and-fail-to-see/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [There is in the blind as in the seeing an Absolute which gives truth to what we know to be true, order to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/there-is-in-the-blind-as-in-the-seeing-an-absolute-which-gives-truth/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Better to be blind and see with your heart, than to have two good eyes and see nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/better-to-be-blind-and-see-with-your-heart-than-to-have-two-good-eyes/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I can see in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-can-see-in-what-you-call-the-dark-but-which-to-me-is-golden/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The medical profession (is) a conspiracy to hide its own shortcomings. No doubt the same may be said of all professions. They are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-medical-profession-is-a-conspiracy-to-hide-its-own-shortcomings/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“A gunshot is a terrible thing to wake up to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-christy/a-gunshot-is-a-terrible-thing-to-wake-up-to/) [Ann Christy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-christy/) ## More by Helen Keller > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I rejoice to live in such a splendidly disturbing time!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-rejoice-to-live-in-such-a-splendidly-disturbing-time/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/be-of-good-cheer-do-not-think-of-today-s-failures-but-of-the-success/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [When indeed shall we learn that we are all related one to the other, that we are all members of one body? Until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/when-indeed-shall-we-learn-that-we-are-all-related-one-to-the-other/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [If we do not like our work, and do not try to get happiness out of it, we are a menace to our profession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/if-we-do-not-like-our-work-and-do-not-try-to-get-happiness-out-of-it/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/alone-we-can-do-so-little-together-we-can-do-so-much/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-do-not-want-the-peace-which-passeth-understanding-i-want-the/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/although-the-world-is-full-of-suffering-it-is-also-full-of-the/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Love? Why ... it is what everybody feels for everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/love-why-it-is-what-everybody-feels-for-everybody-else/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/blindness-separates-us-from-things-but-deafness-separates-us-from/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [A simple, childlike faith in a Divine Friend solves all the problems that come to us by land or sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/a-simple-childlike-faith-in-a-divine-friend-solves-all-the-problems/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“A beam from the everlasting sun of God. Rude and unresponsive are the stones; Yet in them divine things lie concealed; I hear their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/a-beam-from-the-everlasting-sun-of-god-rude-and-unresponsive-are-the/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I can see in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-can-see-in-what-you-call-the-dark-but-which-to-me-is-golden/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) [Explore all 568 Helen Keller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Helen Keller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-no-vision/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-no-vision/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45a/helen-keller-429_blind_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-n_1196418.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45a/helen-keller-429_blind_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-n_1196418.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45a/helen-keller-429_blind_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-n_1196418.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” — Helen Keller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Helen Keller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is a terrible thing to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-no-vision/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-see-and-have-no-vision/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```