Contemplating 74 in '24

I'm looking forward to 2024 with a sense of hope and optimism,

although I'm in a different frame of mind than I have been in the past.

I more keenly feel how fragile and fleeting life is,

and I am aware that a lot of my life is behind me and less before me.

I'm not in a morbid or anxious state of mind because of my age.  

Rather, I am grateful and looking toward more experiences and adventures.

Waiting to Start a Big Challenge ~ Climbing the Coathanger

Sydney, Australia

November 9,  2023

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Last week a friend asked me how can I be cheery and hopeful,

given my age and the health issues I have faced since mid-2021.

I said every day is a gift, and I am grateful for each one.

The odds of me existing, being born, are incalculable.

Restart time at the big bang and I would not be.

How can I not be cheery and hopeful?  I got to be.

I Get to Be!

with My Parents, Sara and Donald MacBeath

Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

Shorty After March 18, 1950

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I think about things I'm grateful for every morning when I wake up,

and I'm extra grateful when I go out into the kitchen and see Terry making coffee ~ lol!

Terry's First Chore Every Morning!

Aurora, Colorado

January 4, 2024

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I've been contemplating what to focus on in 2024,

and I've chosen two words to help me in my quest to stop chasing my tail ~

Definitely something I want to accomplish this year!

The first is the German word eigenzeit. 

It means the "time inherent to the process itself"

or allowing things to take the time they take.

I am always trying to do things faster, and I repeatedly get frustrated

and stressed when they take longer than I think they should.

Oliver Burkeman, in his book Four Thousand Weeks,

referred to his two-year-old toddler several times.

He said that, like it or not, you're going to move at that toddler's pace,

because there is no hurrying a toddler who doesn't want to hurry.

(I suppose you could toss the kiddo over your shoulder

and drag him or her away, but we all know how that ends!)

Moving at Jackson's Pace (See people waiting the background).)

Point Prim, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 29, 2023

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My second word is incrementalism.

It means working through a project by using

many small steps instead of a few large ones.

 

I've been a binger all my life.

I've spent countless all-nighters pushing to complete some assignment, paper, or project.

Can I change my behavior at this point in my life?

After reading Oliver Burkeman's book 

Four Thousand Weeks:  Time Management for Mortals,

I believe I can do it.  You're never too old to learn.

In his book, Burkeman refers to a conclusion drawn by psychology professor Robert Boice.

Boice studied the writing habits of his colleagues throughout his career

and concluded that the most productive and successful writers

were those academics who made writing a smaller part of their day.

This made it easier and more convenient for them to tackle writing daily;

and over the longterm, they produced much more. (Burkeman, p. 181)

Boice's conclusion interests me as a writer, but it can be applied to anything.

It's incrementation at work.

On a Binge Fueled by Coffee

Aurora, Colorado, USA

October 15, 2015

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Another thing I've been thinking about is my long walk,

where I'm currently circumnavigating Greenland.

I started walking on June 9, 2011, three days after I retired,

and from the beginning I recorded the miles I walked and plotted them on maps.

Over the past 11½ years, I've made adjustments in how I calculated my miles walked,

especially when I've had to walk in the house because of bad weather

or even in the hospital because of medical issues.

If I walked 50 feet dragging an IV machine, I recorded those 50 steps!

As of Tuesday, January 2nd, I have walked 8866.9 miles.

Doggedly Determined

Aurora, Colorado, USA

Date Unknown

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I walked from my home in Aurora, Colorado

to St. Anthony on the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula in Newfoundland.

Then I turned around and walked through Labrador to Killiniq, Quebec.

I crossed the Labrador Sea in my "Jesus boots"

and hoofed it to Prins Christianssund in Greenland.

Then I about-turned and started walking clockwise around coastal Greenland,

heading for Ittoqqortoormiit (an idea my friend Pat Hatt had put in my head).

 

But I fell seriously behind recording the miles on my map.

On Tuesday, when I finally caught up, I discovered 

that I was 789 miles past Ittoqqortoormiit and had reached Tasiilaq!

I only have 420.8 miles to go to reach Prins Christianssund again. 

I'm going to make it this year!!!

Ittoqqortoormiit and Tasiilaq, Greenland

(Prins Christianssund is just left of the SW corner of the London rectangle.)

Flying Home from Reykjavik, Iceland, In-flight Map

September 25, 2018

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This walking project over the years has kept me fitter 

and allowed me to indulge in my love of maps, geography, and learning.

Who knows how far I'll get before I croak? 

So, you see, I have lots of reasons to feel hopeful and optimistic in this new year!

I'm linking to  Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date and Nicole's  Friday Face Off.

I have one funny face to share with you this week, my great niece Ella's.

Her mother Jeannie captured Ella giving her best impression

of an inflatable Christmas yard decoration.

 

Photo by Jeannie MacBeath

All Rights Reserved to Jeannie.

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

  My next post will be soon! 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
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