Over at Pick the Brain, I began reading the post “7 Rules For a Life Worth Living” with great hesitation.

Would the list lecture me on my insecurities and obsessions that clearly were a waste of time – and potentially life?

I anxiously scanned the list, my scroll bar leaping up and down the page like a polygraph needle.

Could I treat them as guidelines – given my inclination to bend rules where possible – and still be within the parameters for a worthy life?

I felt a surge of satisfaction as I ticked off the sorts of things I either possessed or was working towards: self-belief, a sense of responsibility and a clear value system…

But the seventh rule seemed to have been written to complement my precise state of mind at the time of reading:

“Want to know what your purpose in life is? Simple. Hold your hands in front of you. Now look at them. There is your purpose and means to do it.

Purpose is your ability to take the creative energies you have and communicating them with the world.”

Undoubtedly my state of awareness was heightened, my head space connected to The Brain’s viewpoint by the story I had just left, slowly, with lingering backward glances.

For I had just put down a book that had drawn me in and consumed me in a single sitting, leaving me, as I closed the cover, looking at my immediate surroundings as if through a magnifying glass.

Let me take you for a moment Beyond the Red Door…

Do You See What I See?

I am a fussy reader. Rarely do I find a book that not only sweeps me up in the language and imagery, but also keeps me firmly rooted in my own reality. Put simply, rarely do I find reads relevant.

But the world bursting from Janet Shaw’s book, Beyond the Red Door, was so similar – and yet so different – to my own experiences that the common threads stood out like black ink on white paper.

She caught me from the first page in a swirl of memories.

Similar in age, born in the same city and a traveller of the same streets, this sense of familiarity was not unexpected.

I could taste the school lunches on sun-baked ovals, could hear the sibling games and spats in the long drive Down South and could feel the same apprehension upon first settling into a sleeping bag under the Southern Cross.

But what I couldn’t share was Janet’s gradual, painful and completely inspiring loss of sight.

I will not go into the details of Janet’s struggles and triumphs – they are hers to share with you. And do not think for a moment that it is the struggles that define her. Having been lucky enough to recently come to know her in person, she radiates a willingness to step up and meet life that is unique.

But I will share one quote from the book that, while written as a suggestion, will be a rule I will commit to:

“…maybe we all need to close our eyes at times and experience the real human being inside ourselves and others.”

Memories and Insights

A good autobiography should give you more than just a window into the world of its subject. It should reflect and renew the reader’s own thoughts and experiences.

Janet’s life has had challenges and achievements that surpassed most, her “gold medal” spirit taking her from the lows of illness and depression to the heights of world-class athletics and self-acceptance.

Yet what I admire most about Janet is her ability to share. She is honest, she is self-aware, but what I appreciated most about her autobiography is that through the generosity of her writing, she held a mirror up to my own life.

She gave colour and texture to half-remembered memories:

Her grandmother seemed a soul sister of my own, her love of words and animals and school days might have been plucked from my own childhood and her adolescent isolation appeared just another dark tunnel running in parallel to mine.

I have yet to experience either the highs or lows of Janet’s life, but the the road ahead of me seems brighter and clearer for having ventured beyond the red door with her.

I look forward to hopefully being a first-hand spectator and supporter to the next exciting chapter of her life.

Get a copy of Janet’s autobiography and join in the great conversations on her blog!