Under the Banyan Tree

Everybody loves a good New Year's resolution, a challenge to think about, an idea to chat about over lunch or boba, a reason to charge into January with our heads held high. And while some people say we don't need January first to make that resolution, I do believe that, just as sunrises, with their brilliant orange slowly offering a deep and beautiful blue, remind us that new opportunities are waiting to be discovered everyday, a new year can be a powerful marker of possibilities and beginnings. So in crafting a resolve, we're not just being cliche. Well, I don't mean the typical I'm going to join a gym and lose ten pounds or I'm going to make an effort to be a nicer person (though we all should be kinder, let's face it); I mean something we truly desire to bring into our lives so we can radiate positivity and joy into the world. Not pounds but health. Not superficial smiles but deep respect for ourselves and others. Not cleaner homes but tidier minds. Wh...

I have very poor eyesight. In fact, I'm myopic. Or myopic plus. So when I recently determined I would have Lasik, after years of hesitance or fear or straight up refusal to allow even the most skilled surgeon to take a stab -- literally -- at my cornea,  a generous doctor (who performs pro bono cataract procedures in Ethiopia every summer) informed me, nicely but firmly, that I was not a candidate. I am what they call hyper-myopic. My sight is beyond Lasik correction. There is, Dr. Nice Guy mentioned while removing a brochure from the pile on his desk next to the framed picture of him and a smiling cataract surgery patient, an option, a refractive surgery that entails folding a lens -- like a taco, he said -- and inserting it behind my iris. But I'm too young to opt for the procedure yet, so I'll have to wait. Damnit. In the meantime I'll continue to order boxes of six pairs of contact lenses that I change every two weeks and confront, or at least deal with, the insec...