“Every day is a masterpiece, even when it crushes you,” voices the blind woman on page 66 of Simon van Booy’s book, The  Illusion of Separateness.  I went to the public library on Saturday morning and by the time the sun set I finished the book.

Interesting that it takes the blind woman to see the masterpiece we call our ‘day’ – our life. She understands that the wonder of simply ‘being’ trumps every adversity and pain. Her statement is a declaration of gratitude. It is an open doorway into meaning and joy.

I have to admit that I can lose any sense of masterpiece-ness because of ridiculous things: traffic, mess, a cold, a ruined meal. You know what I am talking about. Maybe these small weights are practice for the greater weights that will inevitably fall on all our lives.

Some men look, to me, like a fortified city and some women seem so poised, strong and stately like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. I feel more like a cat that balances along the top of an unstable fence, making leaps and taking small risks to keep my story moving. In reality, though, we all share the same life. It is only what we see on the outside that is different.

Every day is a masterpiece, but some of us miss the work of art that is our life. Maybe we should all become art lovers, instead of art critics.