What I learned from Pink Eye

and from flying the friendly skies………………

‘Our life is frittered away by detail … simplify, simplify.’ ~Henry David Thoreau

Picture this, you get on a nasty plane in Chicago and you try not to touch too much. Somewhere along the way, between running from one terminal to the next, backpack bouncing along with every step, to catch yet another flight, I must have touched something.

And then I must have touched my eye.

Let me pause for a moment to linger on the process of flying itself. I equate modern flying to a ride on the Long Island Rail Road, before the new trains, during rush hour. Flying is several steps below taking the New York City subway. With the subway, the mold is clearly visible on the ceiling tiles — therefore, you are clearly reminded not to touch anything around you. The trains run pretty much on time and they stay air conditioned (most of the time). With flying, nothing ever runs on time. I just don’t understand the rush to be the first to board these enormous flying capsules where the air has been turned off and there isn’t a single clean surface to speak of. I especially love the scramble to get everyone on the plane so that we can all wait together in the stagnant air that blows relentlessly down upon you, no matter how many times you adjust the air button. This is truly my idea of fun; isn’t it yours?

Flying is the quintessential example of class structure in our society; where money is the determining factor of how you will be treated. Don’t want to feel like cattle being led to the slaughter house? Just pay a little extra to get on the plane first and a little more to have your bag properly stowed in the back of the plane, where it belongs. Get your wallet out if you plan to eat anything besides those nasty pretzels. And don’t forget the premium seat pricing that demonstrates to everyone else that you are the very best of second class because you actually paid for two more inches of room. For those whose budgets are unlimited, first class and private clubs await. Yes, the airline industry is determined to treat you like a bonafide human, as long as you can pay — through the nose.

When did we allow this to become our norm?

It is NOT ok.

The only redeeming factor is that nothing runs as it should. Therefore, when your first flight is running late — and your sitting on the tarmac with no reasonable explanation — you have a pretty good chance of making your second flight, because that will inevitably be late as well.

Back to my eyes. I arrived home safely and pretty soon afterward, didn’t feel so great. A few days in, my vision became cloudy. The next night I woke up with tremendous pain in my eye. And so the saga began.

Turns out I have viral conjunctivitis, the real Pink Eye. The pussy pink eye is bacterial. This one is viral, drastically affects your vision, highly contagious (especially to you), and inordinately painful. I was told it would take 21 days to fully heal. Twenty one days……

…..and, I couldn’t see.

I am a detail orientated person, in my work and in my life. I notice things and I like it that way. When it hurts to open your eyes or when you are looking through a veil of clouds, details do not exist.

And so I was forced to take a break from myself and the way I see the world. I had to let go: in my art practice, in the new business I am starting, even in the way I clean.

Being a little obsessive, sometimes compulsive, I like to clean — sometimes. Especially when something is lingering in the depths of my mind. I will grab an old knife and sit on the floor digging the dirt up between the ancient pine floor boards as my minds works on resolving the issue at hand. Heaven! With this eye virus, the dust began to pile up and I didn’t even care!

In my are practice, I am currently working on some extremely detail orientated work. In my current state, even a magnifying glass proved to be useless. The detail work would have to wait. Did I mention I am an impatient person?

With my eyeballs feeling like they would explode at any moment, the minutia of my new business venture had to be set aside. I quickly prioritized and set about completeling the three most important tasks each day before my head erupted with intense pain.

So, I let go.

And the essential things got done.

I am in the last week of my 21 day tribulation. The eyedrops are doing their job and I am beginning to notice the accumulation of dust on the floors again. Life is getting back to normal. Yet, I learned a valuable lesson from my very red eyes.

Not every detail matters. Let go, prioritize, be patient and focus on the essential. And by all means, don’t touch anything on the plane!