Shed the brittle skin
of my former year
So I may begin
without any fear
-POEM FOR A NEW YEAR
~~~~~~~~~~
Last year is over and I persevered while educating myself on the subject of visually impaired me.
Now it's time to grab the New Year by its dropped ball and utilize what I've learned.
There are three projects I plan to accomplish this year. They are as follows, with little explanation and definitely without estimated times of completion.
1.) Design a bent online home so my curious creative concoctions can live together in digital sin.
2.) Self-publish an e-book and/or book collecting the best & worst of the short stories, so-called poetry and random ramblings from this blog between the years 2013-2016.
3.) Write the sequel to Darkening Sturgeons that I conjured up last year.
Can I achieve these creative goals this year? Yes, I believe I am ready for the challenge and have sufficiently relearned the skills required to see them through to the end.
Will I achieve these creative goals this year? This kind of work may take longer than expected, especially with my diminished vision, so I can truly make no promises.
There is also my continuing struggle with a most determined demon to consider. I excel at allowing self-doubt to close doors, which is at the center of this New Year's Revolution. I want 2018 to be about swinging doors wide open.
A certain amount of self-doubt is healthy, because without it we would all be political leaders. I just need to prevent that emotionally destructive demon from overwhelming me to the point where I slam the door shut on these burgeoning projects.
So, here I am, middle-age and visually impaired, drawing a line in the mental sand in 2018. On one side of the line is every negative feeling I have ever had about myself. On the other side is me, standing firm, ready to do battle with any insidious, self-loathing feeling that dares to cross the line. My weapon is everything I accomplished in 2017 despite my chunk of vision loss.
It will not be easy, but revolutions rarely are. Thankfully, I know there are friends & family standing behind me, willing to join the battle by lending an ear or a shoulder when needed.
Thank you for reading my half-blind words, and have a revolutionary new year!
Freak Out,
JLH
P.S. Do you suffer from Diva Deficiency Syndrome? If so, please read the blog of my Twitter friend Dave, and then login to your fave music streaming service in the morning.
______________________
John L. Harmon is...
He currently resides left of center in the state of Nebraska and has been visually impaired since December of 2016.
