Another Dr Lee story.
Three months after I started working with Dr Lee, I really started living! Up till then, I was a shy, withdrawn, non adventurous person. The idea of putting myself out there was terrifying at times, but once the decision was made, there was no going back. My diary entry for the second last week of November 2003, said: ‘I made a deal with him. I promise I will go out twice a week at least. I will do something different once a month or I will go somewhere different once a month.’
I decided to find a nice blank book that I could paste in mementoes of my explorations. I found a purple book with a poem on the front that read: ‘The vision you hold in your heart has the power to inspire your soul and discover the dreams that lie within. Adele Basheer’ It was perfect. I typed out my diary entry and pasted it to the inside cover of the book, then I set about labeling each double page with the month. I started with things that others may consider insignificant, like trying sushi, or calamari, or cafe late. But for me, they were big things. Now I look through the book with a sense of amusement at how far I’ve come.
That book ended up holding 3 years and two months worth of ‘first time’ events. After the first year, I took it in to show Dr Lee and he was surprised that I had continued with the challenge seeing as it had never been mentioned again. He asked to see my book. November – bought a yellow shirt. First time I’ve worn something that didn’t have black, blue, white or red on it (picture of me in the yellow shirt). December – went swimming in the ocean. I was shocked by how salty the water tasted (plastic bag with beach sand in it). January – blank. He turned the page. February – first newspaper interviews (two news clipping with pictures of me).
‘What happened to January?’ he asked, turning the page back.
‘Ah,’ I said with a smile. ‘That’s a secret.’ I was not going to tell him I bought my first black bra! He went through the entire book, then passed it back, saying, ‘Do you mind if I use this idea with another of my clients? I think it would be very useful.’
At the end of the first book of three years, I went out and purchased a second book, and on the front of that one was another poem. ‘It is in both the beauty and mystery of life that we are reminded each day is a gift to be celebrated. Adele Basheer’ That book went from 2007 – May 2009. Then for some reason, it stopped. I have kept detailed wall calendar entries, so I’m going to see if I can fill in the missing years and finish the book.
Recently I’ve realised that it would be helpful for me to start doing this again. I felt that I was in danger of withdrawing and shutting myself off. So I have purchased a new book, and I am setting off on another journey of discovery.
DJ
(c) DJ Stutley 2012
