I’m at the beginning of a very exciting new adventure – improving my vision and getting rid of my glasses. And I’m happy to share, in case you might like to try it too.

This morning, I did a 45 minute walk in the woods – without my glasses. I had them with me in my pocket just in case, but did the complete walk without them. Out my front door and back home again.

I also gave in to the temptation and did a very short stint in bare feet.

The sensations were quite interesting…

My feet have felt this minus 4 degree celsius cold in the past and they recognized and welcomed the momentary tingling and sharpness as the blood circulated and turned my toes a lovely pink. I really do enjoy the feeling. The most difficult part of it was getting my cold and slightly moist soles to slide back into my felt-lined boots. That was a struggle for me.

For my eyes, it was totally lovely! The fresh cold air on my eyeballs was exhilarating. And being able to pull my wool hat down to my brows with no interference from the rim of my glasses is something I almost never feel. I loved being able to do that.

The cold air always makes my eyes water and the tears seem to act like a lens, allowing another level of detail to come through. It was interesting to notice the ability to focus come and go as I looked up and down and around, as well as far away to the tree tops and closer to my gloved hands.

My brain, however, reached a different level. It had taken a lot of determined courage for me to actually try this. You see, I am the person who needs to put on her glasses to go down the stairs – to the bathroom – in the dark – at night. I don’t really physically need clarity or details to perform that function. But just in case…. My specs have become a total mental crutch.

I have relied on this crutch for close to 70 years! Is it just a habit? Can I really get rid of this dependence? I am determined to find out.

Before going out the door I had felt a tad unsure if I should take the chance…. What if I run into someone and don’t recognize her? What if I trip? What if …? Although it is a somewhat different concern, it actually made me think of FOMO – the Fear Of Missing Out. (Apparently that explains why some people take their phones to the bathroom.)

As I walked, I came to think of this choice of naked feet and eyes as a sort of metaphor for my life today. I don’t always see the path of my future 100% clearly, so I have to adopt a kind of trust – in myself and in the Universe. With anticipation and a degree of excitement, I have to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. And I don’t have to rely on protective armour to move ahead. And I don’t have to take myself so seriously. What’s the worst that can happen? And if it does come to pass, I can deal with it.

Now back to improving my eyesight. What I’ve learned in this course I’m following is that a huge cause of compromised vision is that the muscles controlling the shape of the eyeball are not relaxed, so they cannot perform their function properly. Two suggested techniques are palming and sunning. So I did these in the woods while leaning against Drumbo, one of my favourite trees. (Another very simple technique is blinking – apparently we should blink about every 2 to 3 seconds.) Because of my teariness from the cold, I definitely did a lot of blinking.

Back to the metaphor: Our path in life is not always clear or smooth or straight. There could easily be unknown and unseen dangers ahead, but we don’t stop just because they might be there. We carry on with faith in the future and our ability to see obstacles when we need to, and deal with them then.

Here I am, about four hours after coming in from my walk and I haven’t put my glasses back on. Hmmm. 😉 I seem to be getting used to this – it’s kind of a tolerance for ambiguity and lack of sharpness. But I am certainly able to function just fine. AND now I am embracing the hopeful prospects of getting rid of my glasses.

Today I will watch the video for day two. I am so looking forward to it! And I can’t wait to tell you all about the next development in this thrilling experience.