The incredible creations of a blind carpenter who hits it on Instagram

This is a story of overcoming, but also a life lesson: happiness is waiting for you, even if you have given up on it.

John Furbiss attempted suicide at the age of 16and as a consequence, he went blind. It is a terrible introduction to introduce a person, but it is necessary to do it that way because it is a key event to understand what comes after.

It’s easy to imagine terror and despair of someone who tries to commit suicide at the age of 16, and instead of succeeding, he goes blind. If his life was already hard before… what will it be like from that moment on, if he can’t see?

Well it turns out John Furbiss leads a completely calm and happy life. She got married a few years ago works as a carpenterwhile gives talks about suicide in schools and other institutions. And she is also a celebrity on social media, where she has thousands of followers.

After his attempt to take his own life, John Furbiss entered a rehabilitation school in Utahwhere he learned to read Braille.

There he met a master carpenter who was also blind. He taught her how to work wood without seeing. It is one of the most challenging professions a blind person can face. Carpenters spend the day working with saws, lathes, hammers, knives and other tools that are very dangerous if you can’t see what you’re doing.

John Furbiss works with wood with his bare hands., and that’s the last thing professional carpenters recommend. But it is his only way to “feel” the wood, and check what he is doing.

In this video we see him using a saw or a lathe, when losing a finger depends only on placing it a centimeter closer or further away:

While working repairing pianos, John Furbiss met Anni Becket, who helped paint the pianos as part of work at a foundation.

In their first talk, John reached into Anni’s paint pot, without realizing it. And that was love at first sight. They’ve been married for years, and she was the one who helped him set up your own carpentry workshop, The Blind Woodsman.

Anni handles social media, while Furbiss creates all kinds of pieces, from plates to vases and other wooden utensils, and sells them both in his workshop and online.

“Never give up. You can always find a way to do the things you want to dosays this blind carpenter in their website. It is a story of overcoming, but also a life lesson. Even if you see everything negatively, there is always a way to find your own path, and be happy.