One Bad Apple

You’ve heard that phrase, right? One bad apple spoils the whole bunch? I’ve recently been reminded in a very big way that that phrase can also be used in regards to our bodies. When one part of our physicality is out of whack, so follows the rest of our body. And that’s the time we need to dig down deep and use all of our tools to bring us back to some semblance of balance.

A little over a week ago I underwent Lasik eye surgery. I have worn glasses for 43 years, so the notion of being in life without an external means of eyesight correction thrilled me no end. But no one prepared me for the post-op period while awaiting the resurrection of my perfect sight! Oh, sure, the doctors told me that my vision would be clear and then blurry off and on for the first 2 weeks, but they didn’t mention all of the other challenges that may come up (I understand, as my challenges may be different from others). It certainly has been a reminder as to how the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies are so very connected.

My biggest challenge this week has not been with seeing far away or up-close, but with my mid-vision being quite blurry and hazy or what I have come to call “fluffy”. And everything around my house seems to be in this mid-vision, so I have come to find out that fluffy vision can be very disorientating, frustrating, and exhausting.

A friend pointed out that I had done something very violent to my eyes–had a flap cut in my corneas and then had my eyes doused with pulses of laser light. So of course my eyes–my physical body– have been healing, but so have been my emotional and mental bodies. For over four decades I have gone through the act of putting on glasses to make my way in the world. My eyesight was so bad that I was totally lost without them (You’ve heard of 20/20 vision? Well mine was about 20/800!). I was addicted to this external source, but all of a sudden, I didn’t need it any more and, even though the fluffy eyesight was annoying, my glasses would not have helped.

As bizarre as it may sound, I was actually grieving the loss of my glasses. I happened to find them the other day and put them on, remarking at how strong they were for me now. But at the same time the familiarity of them on my face reminded me of and felt like an old friend, and I was swept up in a sudden wave of sadness.

Falling away this week were not only actual physical perceptions I had of the world, but emotional and mental ones as well. To adjust to this monumental life change, I have called upon just about all of the seven personal alchemy steps I have just recently shared with you (except the two that involved writing). The ones that I found most helpful were that of meditating and listening to music. The musical vibrations really helped to soothe and sitting in the silence allowed me find peace amidst all of the inner turmoil.

It has been a challenge–and I may still not be completely out of the woods yet, but I have a new appreciation for something that I may have taken for granted all of these years and a new appreciation of how delicate our inner balance is. When one part of us is off, so there goes the rest of our being.

And this can be a beautiful analogy to the world in which we live. Can you see that? When one of us is off, there goes the rest of us. Take notice how integrated and connected we all are. How lovely and amazing. Fascinating lessons everywhere!

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