I Can See Clearly Now!

Last Thursday afternoon I had Lasik eye surgery and my entire world has changed - literally right before my eyes.

I've worn glasses/contacts since 3rd grade so this is a pretty monumental occasion for me. Waking up in the morning and not automatically reaching for my glasses hasn't taken as long to break as I thought it might, but being able to see when I shave my legs in the shower is still pretty amazing! :)

I was immediately reminded of the Johnny Nash song "I Can See Clearly Now," but as I thought more closely about the lyrics, I discovered there's actually more to this than I originally thought.

"I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day."

Then I started thinking about all the analogies there are to seeing: insight, forsight, hindsight, vision, clarity, perspective ... and I realized that my new sight didn't just apply to my now-20/20 vision.

They say hindsight is 20/20 because we're looking with the benefit of wisdom. Wisdom: that which we learn after we know it all. And hindsight is the most beneficial to us if we choose a path going forward that will lead us to avoiding some of the pitfalls we will see through the eyes of that wisdom.

I'm going to work on an article and a new speech using seeing as a metaphor, so if you have any other ideas for me, I will be eternally grateful!

I've also seen this Barbra Streisand song through my new eyes - and understand it much more clearly than I previously did, too.

On a Clear Day:

On a clear day
Rise and 1ook around you
And you'll see who you are
On a clear day
How it will astound you
That the glow of your being
Outshines every star
You’ll feel part of every mountain sea and shore
You can hear
From far and near
A word you’ve never, never heard before...
And on a clear day...On a clear day...
You can see forever...
And ever...
And ever...
And ever more. . .