For this week, Whimsical Wednesdays and Monday Musings are coming together from each corner of my worlds – both the artist and writer me – to share an emerging theme of vision and perspective. Since everything is interconnected, it wasn’t a surprise to me to hear from a very tapped-in friend about this theme swirling around in her life and my “seeing” it sneak through with the experiences people are having on a wider scale. And, of course, it hit home here both with myself and my partner, Dave.

Perhaps some of you may chime in as well on this.

Vision and perspective feels important, as it relates to everything shifting so much in the way we are experiencing the world and collective right now. There seems to be a call to alter our perceptions overall and even a mass movement in terms of the things more people are becoming ready to see now. As layers of the veil peel back, we are being asked to see with new eyes and trust what is being shown/felt because that will be more key in creating a different reality than the one we may have thought was the only version of reality available.

As I mentioned, this has been popping up in our own ways here, as just this last week Dave went through a scary experience of discovering he had a detached retina that had potential implications of loss of eye sight if it hadn’t been caught in time, or if the procedure didn’t work. It was a whole very interesting and involved process to go through with quite advanced technology used to fix this, but in the end he avoided having to have the more invasive surgery under general anesthesia, as the first procedure has been successful.

He’s currently recovering this week, but it definitely was “eye-opening” on many levels.

Interestingly, this last Sunday I decided to try some reading glasses for the first time and bought some. I had bad vision when young – was legally blind in fact – and wore contacts/glasses until around 30 or so when I finally decided to have lasik surgery to correct it. I’d always been afraid of doing the surgery, or didn’t want to see on some level, and then embraced that and it was like woah! So weird to see so clearly – like everything was surreal.

My distorted vision had kept me “feeling” safe all of those years, and now I was ready to expose myself and support my gifts, rather than suppress them.

Anyway, until just last summer, I hadn’t gone back to an eye doctor since, because I had better than 20/20 vision. I started noticing some shifts and had them checked out and they said I’m starting to shift now in all ways – near and far sighted, along with some slight astigmatism. However, my prescriptions were so low that it wasn’t recommended I had to get them filled since they’d likely change a lot. It was felt that I could think about it in a year or two when they shift more or just pick up some over-the-counter readers at the store.

I hadn’t done that until now, feeling maybe I would try it out and transition myself slowly. I actually have come to love glasses as I’ve grown older and admire them on people, unlike the younger me who was more self-conscious about it and preferred the blurry world when I didn’t need to see clearly like in school, work, or while driving. I feel that they also add a layer to one’s personality and personal style. Perhaps they may even be more fitting to the artist/writer me I’m evolving into.

My mom ended up giving me some readers that she had and I got another super cheap pair after these first ones you see here, so I have five now at different levels to see what works best or to transition with.

What I’ve found interesting and synchronous to all of this is that while these vision and eye shifts have been taking place, I’ve noticed another big shift in perspectives and approach to my life, overall, which in essence is speaking to what I feel is more alignment.

I know very clearly the type of artist I am now and what I truly love painting and how.

I also was shown that my art is more about being an outlet for creative expression and joy when I feel moved in that direction and not something that feels to be a vocation, but more so an extension of simply who I am.

My writing feels more evolutionary for me – not necessarily that I see it vocationally either, but much more deepening and expanding in terms of growth and moving me out of all comfort zones, as well as facilitating creative expression as a honed in skill that merges and balances both sides of my brain, and that returns me to my more natural self – and voice.

It makes sense that my novel is also going through a huge shift too, which is a result of my stepping away from it for so long and returning now with “fresh perspective.”

I’ve been taking this return in steps, as I think I’ve mentioned before, and creating bite-sized morsels with it that create less overwhelm and more immediate levels of accomplishment, while also remaining detached from any end result ideas.

I envision a lot of work ahead, but the process being much more reflective of where I am now.

The steps I’ve taken so far have been researching a lot of links and books, both my editor had suggested, and ones I felt led to, and printing out the entire manuscript, then page-by-page marking it up with notes and highlighting that didn’t translate when I printed it on our only black and white printer.

Currently, I’m rereading the manuscript and journaling while I do so – both taking notes of major things I want to keep in mind for overall shifts I’ll be making and also somewhat processing my thoughts and ideas on where I may go with things.

Once I’m done reading I’ll have a greater handle on the direction, as I want to let the entire journey guide me, rather than make any decisions yet.

Everyone has their own process, but I’m learning to create mine and what works best for me, along the way.

I had no idea what I threw myself into when first I embarked on this writing adventure, as it is nothing like my first book I quickly pulled together and self-published, and nothing like what I had first envisioned it was going to be.

I’ve simply been embracing every twist and turn along the journey.

I literally jumped off the cliff and am now getting a crash course on what all is involved, learning along the way, and going through the growing pains rather fast – thank you to my editor!

I could never have done it before or had the ability to step back from personal investment in something, as I can now. And even since last I completed the first draft, it’s amazing to see how much I’ve shifted and my perspective has expanded, which of course translates into a whole new story!

My current reading and journaling stage is perfectly aligned for Dave’s downtime week, as I’m able to take my manuscript with me while we enjoy long beach days now that the weather is so nice and we’re in the shoulder season without crowds or noise lakeside – minus a few birds who like to come around and offer their perspective. 😉

Interestingly, yesterday we saw a bald eagle fly above us. She or he was then air-wrestling with a raven who likely wasn’t too excited the eagle was nearby. Our second bald eagle sighting in the last couple of weeks – so yes vision is definitely on a high!

Bald eagles symbolize the courage to look ahead and great vision.

Pure Spirit shares: When an eagle appears, you are on notice to be courageous and stretch your limits. Do not accept the status quo, but rather reach higher and become more than you believe you are capable of. Look at things from a new, higher perspective. Be patient with the present; know that the future holds possibilities that you may not yet be able to see. You are about to take flight.

I also recently shifted camera perspective on myself in a literal kind of way and rather than just sharing photos via my social media avenues, I’ve been nudged into adding some self-videos now and then that remove the barrier that a photo can still create and welcomes people into my world with a more personal, transparent experience of who I am and what my daily world is like.

Recently, I shared a look into my creation space, which the photo at my desk above is from, offering an insight to how I create a nurturing world around me that supports and inspires the dreamy worlds I imagine, via my writing and painting, into life.

I imagine, also, that things will continue to shift as my perspective widens and my vision adjusts into its new level of clarity.

Have any of you been experiencing themes around how perspective changes your experience, or having vision come up in literal or more symbolic ways – including perhaps even an emphasis on intuition stepping forward, more psychic vision becoming clarified, or things you didn’t see before suddenly making sense and stepping out on the scene now?

I thought you might find this last photo fun. I also recently moved these two whimsical dolls into position right in front of me at my desk, so that when I’m working on my computer they are actually staring right at me – and me at them.

I find myself looking into their eyes often while writing and alongside all of the other friends in the creation space I share with Astrid, it’s amazing how many eyes are on me.

They have special meaning to me and are connected with my novel, symbolically representing two of the characters.

The perspective of seeing through their eyes, but mostly that they are seeing through to the heart of me, keeps me focused on that key piece.