Go Big or Go Bust: Day 157 (the power of imagery)

The surprising power of that one 'Own The Room' photo, on the side of a phone booth, has me thinking about how I might better make use of pictures to help me to 'go big'. To hammer home the point (to myself), I want to recount a couple of experiences.

- A number of years ago, I went to see a healer who works with imagery. On my first visit to see him, he 'prescribed' images to visualize three times a day for twenty-one days. Thanks to his treatment, I was saved from disfiguring facial surgery. 

- When I moved to New York City, I'd been trying to stop smoking for the better part of ten years. Living on Rolaids to deal with the constant burning in my stomach. I'd throw away cartons of cigarettes to reinforce the firmness of my resolve. But I'd always started up again.  

One night, heading home on the #1 train, stomach burning, some teenage boys  bounded onto the train. I was only twenty-six, but watching them in basketball jerseys and shorts as they threw a basketball around made me feel old and tired. They had beautiful muscles and were bursting with life and energy and innocence. 

And then, one of them pulled out a cigarette and lit it.  It was as if someone had taken a rock and smashed a plate glass window between us. The image of their youth and health was obliterated in that instant. I suddenly got the destructive power of smoking. And I never smoked another cigarette.