Under the Knife
After reading the series of posts on my recent tryst with spinal surgery, a friend remarked – You hardly wrote any thing about the hours spent “under the knife”?! I promised him that that would be the subject of another post. No, this will not be a graphic description of the actual operation. In any case, I was under anaesthesia, and hardly aware of the details, except in theory. What I want to share with you, however, is how it has changed me… and Life, as I know it.
Without exaggeration, it was a near-death experience for me.
The risks of not doing the operation were very real. There was a distinct possibility that even a bad cough or sneeze could cause Cauda Equina and I would be paralysed or incontinent for life. Not to mention, if things did not go as planned during the procedure, there would be consequences too. There was always the probability of reaction to the anaesthesia, potential nerve damage, etc. etc. That’s why, when I emerged from the Operation Theatre alive (even if not-yet kicking), I was thrilled! I would be able to walk on my own two feet, soon!!!
Now, until that day, surprising as it may sound, I had always tried to live my life with the Carpe Diem approach… Always believed that Life was too short to waste a single precious moment… always tried to make the most of each day. But this experience reminded me of how I had perhaps become a bit – lazy – in my thinking and action. There were so many things I’d been procrastinating on. I no longer attempted them with the urgency I once had.
As I struggled to regain my strength, day by day, muscle by muscle, I couldn’t help but think – The time to do it is NOW!
Do what, you ask? Every thing.
All the things you put off for another day. All the things you postpone for the day you will have some leisure time at your disposal. All the things that matter to you – are important – but just not “urgent enough”. I could not wait to get back on my feet again (no pun intended), to do all that… and more.
As soon as I was able to, I began ticking off my Life task-list, one by one :
- Back up the data on my PC (yes, it had been a while!)
- Take Pumpkin to the park
- Cook!
- Create a photographer profile to share my work
- Call up old friends I hadn’t spoken with in a while
- Watch the wedding video with the wife and Pumpkin…
The list would be endless… and, it still continues. But thankfully, I no longer need to remind myself to attend to the “important” stuff in Life.
Those two hours I spent ‘under the knife’ would do wonders for the rest of my living years, in more ways than one…
P.S. What’s on your Life task-list? And, when do you intend to get to it?