As I get older, I find myself having to contend with health issues never dreamed of before.  
Since I didn’t anticipate living much past 40, I certainly didn’t think about problems of old age—getting to old age was too big of an obstacle itself! Then, the miracle of a triple transplant and #DonateLife reset the clock for me, and now…now I see that aging has its own bumps and bruises.

As a Type 1 diabetic, I developed retinopathy, or problems with the small blood vessels in the eye.  I was able to undergo a laser surgery that helped with the retinopathy previously, but I was told that a byproduct of this procedure was that cataracts can occur later in life.

Later in life! Ah, what a concept for a transplant recipient to ponder. What a blessed turn of phrase. Now I am in that “later” in life, and cataracts were mine to deal with.  

My vision was worsening to the point where cataract surgery was required. After dialysis and three transplants, I thought this would barely register an effect. I had received a new heartbeat, for goodness sake! What could a new little lens really do for me?

The surgery took all of 15 minutes.

I walked out into the light, blinked and no longer blinkered, and felt I was experiencing the world anew.

I can see clearly for the first time in years.

Think about that—I can see clearly for the first time in YEARS. What power one little lens had over my life.

As I reflected on this medical miracle (another one), I thought—wouldn’t it be nice if we could remove all the “cataracts” in our lives so that we could see life clearly once again?  

We could remove our insecurities.

Expunge our assumptions.

Clear the fears that bind us.

Shed the people who bring negativity into our lives.

What a huge step that would be!  So many people live with metaphorical cataracts and are not even aware of them—kind of like the blurry vision that I just accepted. 

One day, I said “enough” and sought a remedy.  The ophthalmologist looked into my eye and said he couldn’t even see in, so surely I could not see out of it.  Sometimes we can be blind to ourselves, particularly when it involves our health, our assumptions, our mindset.

The cataract can be symbolic for many of the problems that keep us from seeing our lives clearly.  My advice?  Detach, extract, remove, erase them and you will be much happier for it.