Last week, I read of Hilary Mantel’s sudden and sad death. Accompanying the news articles were comments on her relatively young age.
Me: I mean, 70 is pretty old.
Also me with dawning realisation: holy fuck, I’ll be 70 in 15 years!
More than anything recently this has made me aware of my mortality. Carpe the whatevs, friends.
♥
The effects of the productivity cult definitely linger, but I’m beginning to accept that the winter months are really a fallow, quiet time for me. I’ve spent way too much of my recent years feeling guilty that I wasn’t carrying the same levels of enthusiasm and energy equally across the year – and being “productive” and ticking off all the Action Items. We are, of course, not robots.
I suspect this is why I am very conflicted about this blog. I no longer want it to be “I did All The Things”, because I think that is not at all healthy for anyone. But if not that, then what? I continue to ponder.
Onward!
♥
01. Use the things!
✅ Definitely still about having a hard look at possessions and removing Things: drawing tablet, dehydrator, ice-cream churner, several books I’ll never read, somewhat sentimental and/or aspirational clothing that no longer fits.
+ Donated the still-very-functional lumix camera to Urban Artistry’s Camera Project – very happy that this little champion can continue to live on!
+ Mad scramble to redeem a year of audible credits before expiry (finally listened to Rivers of London – which I thought I’d dislike, but loved quite a bit).
02. Put my feet in the sea
✅ Completed April.
03. Buy more indoor plants
✅ Completed: March | April | May | August | September
Tiny Succulents: I am powerless to resist them
04. 30 days of Yoga With Adrienne in January
✅ Completed January
I would benefit from exploring my resistance to returning to yoga, or indeed my resistance to any form of physical fitness!
05. Achieve Big Financial Goal
✅ Completed August!
Next big financial milestone: December 2023
06. Use my dremel.
✅ Completed May!
07. Choose the loving action.
✅ I finally embraced Granny Undies. I’m at the old-lady jiggle point where the hipster bikini style was no longer comfy.
+ We decided to not attend an early Friday evening classical concert (despite having tickets) because we were both overwhelmed by (work) people and things – and instead walked in the lovely evening for dinner to a local hipster hamburger joint for dinner. This was absolutely the right and loving thing!
+ Began voluntary contributions to superannuation (our version of a pension fund or 401k).
08. Try/learn one new skill each month
✅ Two book-binding classes! I now need to embed those skills with home practice.
Will I ever actually post the many crafts I’ve been talking about?
09. More music through speakers in ThePalace(OLove) on working days.
NOPE! I will be astonished if this happens this year. Was entirely delusional to think I would ever escape from back to back Teams calls!
10. Show support financially to creators I believe in
Maintained existing levels of support on Patreon. Likely will add Valerie Lin to the Patreon roster in October.
11. Take myself on an adventure in the goget (car share).
NOPE! If I’m honest, I suspect this is really unlikely to happen.
12. Attend another sound bath
✅ Completed March | June | August
Skipping November because we’ll be away. Also will be rethinking for 2023 because despite the magical benefits laying on that hard floor even with padding absolutely kills my lower back.
13. Take a photo of the sky every day.
Change of window! 9/30
9 september: 4:01pm
You’d not think this was easily forgotten, but it is.
14. Stay in the country for a weekend
NOPE! I’m fairly confident this will not happen before 2023. To be honest, I’d rather travel outside the country. We have a few overseas trips now scheduled.
15. Update supportive footwear.
✅ Completed January | more in August.
16. Have a serious crack at meditation.
NOPE!
17. Go for a morning swim in the local pool
✅ Completed February. I think it re-opens next week, though it’s still rather cold for swimming!
18. Have a Reiki session.
NOPE!
19. Disrupt the daily routine at least once a week.
✅ I was the only family member in Sydney for a few days mid-month – this was kind of unprecedented! I volunteered to feed grand-cat, who was quite hidey and hissy and failed to warm to me.
+ Attended those book-binding classes.
+ Did not spend most weekends cooking complex meals, ate entirely from the freezer for a couple of weeks (thanks past us for the complex meal cooking!)
+ Bought hiking poles and hiked badly with them! We have a Switzerland hiking holiday planned for next year and need all the practice we can get.
20. Cultivate a healthier relationship with work
✅ Definitely improved: but always challenging because I work with quite a number of aggravating idiots. Difficult not to let them take space in your head.
We’re back in office 2 days per week – it is utterly and completely exhausting.
21. Get a haircut/trim
✅ Completed February | June
22. Experiment! Tiny experiments with all sorts of things!
I invariably forget about this one! Does experimenting with granny undies count?