“The only thing worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision” – Helen Keller

A good friend of mine told me today, “It’s not easy seeing something that has never been before”.  For me visions have always been linked to creativity and production.  Developing a concept to reality is basis of my career and how I have found success in the work place.  Firm, concrete plans constructed in a measurable way for all to see.  Searching for the right words to express my outlook for the new year,  the thought of “seeing clearly what has not yet been presented” hit a nerve with my theme of believing in the nontangibles of life.

January 1, 2020, not only the beginning of a new year, but the day we embark on last year of the past decade.   A valued mentor of mine once noted, you should always make decisions based on where you want to be in 10 years.  Looking back to 2010, I would have never placed myself in my current role.  To be honest, I never even knew my life of today could exist.

However, over the past 8,760 hours my vision had started to become cloudy and I began to go blind to having faith in tomorrow.  Yet for all my belly aching over my distaste for 2019, as I closed out the final hours of the past era, there was an overwhelming sense of peace in my heart and hope in the future.  Why had my outlook started to shift?

Not a fan of New Year’s resolutions, as evident by the past blogs, I believe it is time to cut ourselves some slack and look for the silver lining in our current state of affairs.  Giving a pause on improving your shortcomings, why not instead challenge yourself to list out goals that will bring a smile to your face?  Looking for the positive approach to this annual task,  I have been racking my brain for five things I would like to accomplish, experience or achieve in 2020.   For the life of me I can’t put my finger on one solid goal to place on a list.  Sure, I could choose my usual suspects, travel to a new destination, get my finances in order, or my all-time go to, write more, but none of those really got my engines burning.  And then it occurred to me, maybe at this very moment I am content just where I am in my life?  Perhaps I am beginning to accept what has never been before as not a blind spot, but clear view to the future.

Haven’t you ever felt like your life is like waiting for the feature film to begin at the movie theater?  You sit there for what seems like eternity watching all the coming attractions, tuned out with anticipation of what is to come.  No fast forwarding, the time and need for patience is unavoidable.  For the past few months, I pray every morning for patience.  The ability to sit idle and ride out my current state of affairs.  Waiting for all the mini “filler” clips to play strengthen  the tolerance to allow my beliefs to come to attrition, to slow down my mind and just refocus on my future.

My best friend Shawna sent me this cartoon clip this week, in the simplest form it expresses how I feel about today.  What an amazing concept, 365 opportunities, talk about crushing the genie in the bottle theory.  You only get three chances on that magic carpet ride.  We are all familiar with 20/20 vision being synonymous with “perfect vision” and it got me thinking, maybe 2020 is the start of perfecting ones outlook for not just the next 365 days, but the future 3,650 days.

Instead of declaring my yearly goals, I am going focus on the opportunity that each day brings.  And keeping with the spirit of today, here is my list of five things I will not be blind too.

1 – Keeping my eyes wide to “open doors”.

2 – Not all opportunities are presented at first as a positive.

3 –  Letting the future cloud over what is happening in the moment.

4 – Open myself to loving with my whole heart.

5 – Embrace my belief that everything happens for reason, the good and the bad.

As dawn breaks on the second day of 2020, I am still pounding away at writing this blog.  And what keeps coming back to me is the quote I see daily as I exit my front door.  Written by one of our most noblest authors of the 20^th Century, Dr. Seuss “Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.  So love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason.  If you get the chance take it.  If it changes your life, let it.  Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.”

What will this trip around the sun bring to my life? What chance will I get to take today, who knows?   But I can’t stop hearing the words of the 80’s tune in my head, “the future is so bright, I gotta wear shades”, and that is an opportunity that I am not willing to miss.