Just do it

When I talk about my plastic and rubber body parts, I always seem to forget my oldest fake body part of all: my hearing aids.

I always carry my hearing aids with me, though I don't always have them plugged into my ears. At the moment, one of the aids doesn't work, but the other one does and I wear it at work and in some other situations.

On Sunday I went to the Laemmle on Sunset Boulevard to catch a new documentary on the advertising business called "Art & Copy," and when I settled into my seat I put the working hearing aid in my left ear and kept the other one in my hearing aid pouch. I guess I left the pouch in my lap and during the movie it fell to the floor. It wasn't until I was already heading home after the movie that I realized it was gone.

My health insurance no longer covers hearing aids, so replacing one would cost me hundreds of dollars. I panicked and rushed back to the theater.

I handed a note to the ticket-taker explaining that I left something important at my seat. She said I was welcome to go back into the theater to look for it, but the next screening had just begun and it might be hard to find anything in the dark, especially if someone was sitting in the seat I had.

The theater was pretty full, so I just found a vacant seat to sit through the film again and wait for the houselights to come up.

Fortunately, "Art & Copy" is a good film that was just as enjoyable the second time around. In it, a number of figures in the advertising industry talk about the inspiration behind campaigns for clients like Apple, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and many others, but it became clear to me during the repeat viewing that the film is about more than simply advertising.

One line toward the end of the film leaped out at me the second time I heard it. Explaining that advertising artists and writers —or the people who hire them— sometimes make bad decisions based on fear rather than take bold steps driven by inspiration, Mary Wells, founder of Wells Rich Greene, says "I think fear is a powerful depressant."

When I heard that line again, a proverbial light bulb illuminated above my head. Lately, my health situation has kept my dreams on a short leash, and my fear about where this is all leading has kept me from taking more risks, thinking differently, living my life as fully as I should.

The message was loud and clear the second time around. Lucky for me that I saw "Art & Copy" again.

And by the way, I found the pouch with my hearing aid.