I have a new super power!
Over the past few years, my eyesight had gradually deteriorated. (Apparently I was paying the price of all that sun exposure as a kid). But just a few days ago, I had the first of two cataract surgeries.
Afterwards, it was like someone took down the sheer curtains and cleaned the windows. Everything snapped into technicoloured focus. I felt almost giddy with colour and detail.
When I got home from the hospital I walked around our home, simply enjoying the sheer pleasure of LOOKING, literally, with new eyes. (Or rather eye. I get the other one done in a couple of weeks.)
Don’t judge me but I even set out some of my paintings just so I could finally see them for myself. Up to that point I’d had no real idea what they actually looked like. Friends and family had assured me they didn’t suck but I needed to see them for myself.
However, here’s what I really want to share in this post: while my eyesight grew worse my vision became very, very clear.
Last night we were in the mood for a fun movie so we put on “City Slickers”. It’s been years since we watched it and I’d forgotten the powerful, underlying message the story expressed..
Curly, the trail boss, tells Billy Crystal that the secret to life is this…and he holds up one finger.
“Just one thing”.
When Billy’s character questions him on what it is, Curly tells him to figure it out for himself.
As my eyesight dimmed, I realised my One Thing has been patiently waiting. I’ve known it since I was a kid but life always seemed too busy. Kids to raise. Business to run. Food to get on the table. Things to do. Places to go. People to see. And cell phones and smart devices it got harder than ever to turn it all off.
It took the threat of losing my vision to snap my One Thing into focus.
It boils down to this: the need to creatively express myself.
So what am I doing about it?
Every morning I will take time to paint and/or write. It may mean getting up earlier some days to fit it in, but no one else is going to give this time to me. It’s up to me.
However, because I’ve been known to let myself off the hook from time to time, I’m declaring it here so that it’s a public commitment.
So let me ask you this, “Do you know YOUR One Thing?”
Please, don’t wait to have it almost snatched out of your reach to make it a priority in your life. You were given this passion for a reason. And that’s the all the excuse you need to make room for it in your life.
If you want some help claiming your One Thing, why not join my free teleclass on February 24? It’s designed to help you do something about your own passion.
