Focus. The word is so pregnant with meaning when you live with RP. Not your garden variety focus on daily tasks and minutiae but the struggle of focusing on objects, the snags of focusing conflicted feelings and the very real fear of focusing on a future without sight.
I’ve been giving this thought since taking a step back from the incessant focus on my eyes. That distance has allowed me to focus more acutely on RP’s inexorable stages and they aren’t always pretty – from gloomy judgments on loss of independence to ugly yet inevitable “why me?” pity parties.
Most of us have been there – or continue to walk that path. It took the wise counsel of a good friend to pull me out of the latter when she told me the unhealthiest thing I can do is compare myself to others (those clean-sighted folks we envy so keenly) and compare myself to my former self – the one who could fleet foot it down stairs and maneuver the world with ease. Comparing yourself to that self gets you nowhere.
A large part of my new regime is to turn my focus away from the eyes. The irony is I focus away from my eyes to fully focus on the health of my eyes. Crazy but it works! I continue to eat greens, choose supplements or vitamins that suit my system and keep active and fit. The weekly full body acupuncture is a delicious and beneficial bonus — this simple combination is a prudent life recipe for every vital adult no matter what the limitations.
The benefits of moving on with life are legion. I’ve said this before and can’t say it enough – focusing on what we can see is much more rewarding – and far less stressful – than worrying about what we can’t, what we are losing and what we may lose down the line.
So cheers to a lovely Spring — and all of the bounty that nature, and we ourselves, have to offer!
Love this positive energy! All the best to you.