A New Set of Eyes

Last week, I got a new pair of swimming goggles. That may not sound like much except that these goggles have a minus 9 magnification, which means that I can see clearly underwater. While I wear my glasses to see clearly on land, I have never been able to see clearly under water; it was all a giant blur. Some parts of the blur were light colored while others were dark. Some parts of the blur moved while others were still. It was no fun to swim in a crowded place because I kept crashing into other people! Living in this world of blurred reality, I had just assumed that everyone had blurry vision when under water. It took a camera, like those used in the Olympic games to make things clear there.
But then my friend Helen told me about her goggles. She let me look through them and I discovered to my amazement that I could see as clearly as if I was wearing my glasses. I ordered a pair which arrived last Tuesday. When I put them on and put my face in the water, I was absolutely astounded! It was magically clear---the tiles on the pool floor, my fellow swimmers, the bubbles formed when my hand swept through the water. I could see from one end of the pool to another, read the big swimmer's clock on the wall, and most importantly, I could see other swimmers before I crashed into them or they crashed into me. It was a brand new world! Because I can see, I am safer, and because I can see the clock, I am now lore efficient in my swimming.
I have now gone swimming three times with my new eyes, and I am still amazed by what I can see. Light plays on the water in wonderful ways. Some of the other swimmers are exquisitely beautiful as they swim, while others are just plain having fun. There are all sorts of tiles on the pool bottom and I can study the mural on the pool wall as I swim. It is still magic.
I think we sometimes need to be handed a new pair of eyes while on land, even when we think everything is all right. I was given a new pair as I was recovering from my brush with death in April. I am conscious of seeing new things even as I am seeing old things in new ways. I don't seem to be crashing into things quite so often anymore. I am not as tense as I used to be because I don't have to worry about what might hit me when I am not looking. Life is more beautiful, I am more efficient, and I am relaxed enough to see it, and that is enough!
Now if it was just a day where I could be swimming.......