Civic Center
The Erasable Pen!
A few years back, I was at CVS looking for a pen. My favorite pen, the Gel Paper Mate, was out. I was bummed; I really love the smoothness of how it writes. It makes the writing experience so much more exciting. But, oh well, what could I do? Then my eyes landed on a Pilot erasable pen. I was a little surprised they even had those. I decided to try them out.
When I got home, one of the first things I did was to make sure I could erase whatever I wrote. Sure enough, it was a miracle. Gel Paper Mate pens? A thing of the past.
Why am I in love with the erasable pen? Because I cannot make a mistake. And if I do, voila, I erase it. It’s especially great for when I mess up in the checkbook.
By now you’re probably wondering why I’m even talking about this pen at all. What’s the point?
I started connecting the reasons why I love my erasable pen to life. When I’m using the pen, I feel adventurous; I don’t care if I mess up. I’m not guarded, I write fast; I feel free. I know I can fix anything. When I’m using the regular pen, I’m very careful; I slow down, and when I mess up and remember it’s not the erasable pen, I’m peeved because I have to use White Out, which looks messy.
Then, I thought about Life. How many of us are cautious, guarded, take it slow, and miss an adventure because we know we can’t erase what happens? I admit, I’m a lot more cautious when I think, “Oh, oh, if I do this, that can happen. No do over.”
But we can’t have an erasable life. What happens happens. We might be able to put White Out on some events that occur, but they don’t really go away. They’re there, stored in our lives.
What if we’re missing out? What if we need to live as though we have an erasable life? What if we take more chances, go on more adventures? I wonder.
I’m not sure quite what the answer is, but I do know that feeling the freedom that comes with writing with an erasable pen is great. I bet that living life that way would be great as well. I’m not sure I’m fully there yet, but I'm going to give it a go in any little way I can.
What say you?
Slipstream
Acting carefree is where I'll start, and maybe I can become it with practice and patience. Great article!
Sanatana
Doing little things that I feel I'm not supposed do, such as reading for a few minutes in the middle of the day...perhaps I'll start with that.
Well Street
Doing little things that go against the rules resonates with me.
Before starting my own business, I was routinely at work from dawn till well after dusk on most days, and this was my version of normal. Now, meeting a friend for lunch during the week feels great, but part of me still feels like I'm breaking the rules a little bit. It's totally worth it, though.
Evangel
I read a story today about a Greek priest who threw caution to the wind and massaged a tourist's genitals with holy oil. Now he's in big trouble. Sometimes missing out is the best way to stay out of trouble. Although an eclair sounds sinfully good right now.
Sanatana
Well, I wouldn't recommend massaging anyone's balls as a way to be carefree...let's start with the eclair!
Wilsons Grave
You're right about the white out. The mistake is still there with a blob of paint over it. I see several of those looking in the mirror.