2020 Vision

“By the year 2020, the year of perfect vision, the old will outnumber the young.”~Maggie Kuhn

We are the baby boomer generation. As I age, I want to learn to make my vision crystal clear so that my fears become irrelevant and not me. Easier said, than done. I know because I have been confined by my fears at different times of my life and have learned to push through my fears as well as make friends with them. My goals for 2020, the year of perfect vision, are told through some of my favorite photos of 2019.

“Sight is what you see with your eyes, vision is what you see with your mind.”

I have recently had two eye operations to improve my sight. My vision was cloudy…maybe a metaphor for my past life. Now, that I can see clearly, I want to envision my life filled with beauty. I am tired of seeing the ugly first. There is beauty in everything. 

A snowy Thanksgiving in Yosemite National Park.

“Getting lost in the ‘big picture’ often prevents us from cherishing the ‘small moments’ that make it all worthwhile…” ― J.R. Wirth

Cliche, I know…but I want to spend more time smelling the flowers. I am retired…all I have is time. I want to cherish the small moments.

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”
― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time

One of my favorite books by the way! I want to see the world from a different perspective every day. I am taking an online iPhone photography course, mainly because I don’t want to carry a heavy expensive camera around with me on my travels. I would like to look at the world from the perspective of a cat, today. Maybe a lion tomorrow. And an acorn the next day.

“Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.”
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

I want life to be like the old game show, Let’s Make a Deal. I’d open any damn door because there is sure to be an adventure behind it.

“Reality continues to ruin my life.” ― Bill Watterson, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

I love Calvin and Hobbes. In fact, I am a connoisseur of the weird, bizarre, and quirky. Anything that makes me laugh. Life should involve humor and I want a lot of humor and laughter in my life.

“In order to climb up the mountain I must first climb out of my fear of climbing.”
― Craig D Lounsbrough

Exactly! For me, everything comes back to fear…of which I must deal with the fear judiciously, fairly, and equally. It is part of who I am…but I am still going to climb the mountains.

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
― Carl Gustav Jung

A lover, a friend, a fleeting connection…does it matter the time? No! I want to be transformed by my relationships and connections whether they be human, animal, or nature. Love is everywhere if we take the time to find it, unlock it, and nourish it.

“Come to the edge,” he said.
“We can’t, we’re afraid!” they responded.
“Come to the edge,” he said.
“We can’t, We will fall!” they responded.
“Come to the edge,” he said.
And so they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.”

― Guillaume Apollinaire

I live by this quote. I envision flying fearlessly through the universe of my imagination where anything is possible. What more could I ask for in 2020, the year of perfect vision?

My wishes for you in 2020, the year of perfect vision, is that you are set free from your fears and confinements. Love, laugh, and enjoy each moment. And remember, in 2020, we baby boomers outnumber the young.