Better or Worse


I need to book an appointment for my opticians soon.  It’s been a while and I reckon I’m overdue a visit.  Unlike the dentist I always find it relatively pain free.   It’s a fairly enjoyable experience. In fact it’s often fun!  After the initial, ‘Which is the lowest line you can read?’, the examination inevitably moves towards fine-tuning, where the optician places a lens in front of my eyes and flips it back and forth asking, ‘Can you see better or worse like this or this?’. These decisions at the time can seem very subtle but once decided on can make a huge difference to the overall prescription. However, if you think too much about the answers responding to the questions seems to get harder. The secret is always to speak out the first reaction of what you see in an uninhibited way, and trust that the optician knows what he or she is doing. 

I can relate to the optician’s question ‘Is it better or worse?’ because as a songwriter the nuances of ‘should the melody rise or fall here’, or ‘should the word be this or this’ seem endless as line by line a song develops before me. 

It’s funny how the way I approach my particular craft reflects the broader issues of how I live my life.  Recently I have become aware that the same choices apply when I am seeking guidance or direction. I look around at all the options and gradually, step by step, follow the ‘leading’. The more I end up ‘trying’ to get it right the more stuck I find I can get. Decision making, just like the most effective eye test or best songs, usually flow easiest when self awareness is replaced by an almost playful sense of discovery.  

The greatest song of all is a life well lived: permeating all our affairs, not just the stage or platform.  Decision by decision, as we follow the promptings of the Spirit with lightness in our approach, vision and wholeness will come as a result of what we see.

I’m off to give my opticians a call!