Blind and happy

How Roberto found inner peace without sight

Roberto goes on long bike tours with his friend, for example to Trieste or Grado.

(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

Roberto Kragolnik from Reichenau lost 90% of his sight at the age of 16 and was completely blind by the age of 23. However, he has never struggled with his fate - on the contrary. In addition to sports such as climbing and tandem biking, he helps other people who have not yet found happiness. 

What was almost the end of the world for his family at the time was a kind of redemption for him. He still remembers the exact moment when the massive vision problems first appeared. "Suddenly the letters looked like someone was stirring the text with a wooden spoon," says Roberto, describing day X. And this day changed his life - but in a positive way. He never wanted to be like his father or his brother, driven by success and stress. For him, being blind was a gain. "You may lose the outside view, but it opens up an inner world," says Roberto. And: "I suddenly felt happiness, peace and joy."

He had to give up the tourism school he was attending at the time. Instead, he learned the profession of masseur. And in his own seminars, he helps other people to lead a fulfilled life. Together with a friend, he founded the "Seins Akademie" in Pfaffstätten.

Roberto masters his everyday life completely on his own. Cooking, train travel - no longer a challenge for the now 60-year-old. And Roberto is also out and about doing sport every day. 

Roberto had to give up his studies in tourism to become a massage therapist.

(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

Roberto prefers to receive guests at his home on the floor.

(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

Using his own device, Roberto reads entire books aloud.

(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

Cycling or climbing the Rax via ferrata? No problem with good friends. But he still has a fear of heights. "When I look down, I immediately get a queasy feeling in my stomach," says Roberto.