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

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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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

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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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

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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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

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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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

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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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

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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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

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

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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
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

IWSG: Wednesday, December 6, 2023 ~ Writing Book Reviews

 

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.






To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are C. Lee McKenzie, JQ Rose, Jennifer Lane, and Jacqui Murray!

 

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.

I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.

This month's featured question is: 

Book reviews are for the readers. When you leave a book review do you review for the Reader or the Author? Is it about what you liked and enjoyed about your reading experience, or do you critique the author?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow!  December and the last IWSG post of the year!

Did 2023 race by in a flash for you?

It sure did for me!

I hope that you are enjoying this holiday season, wherever you are, however you celebrate!

We Made It!

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney, Australia

November 3, 2023

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Interesting IWSG question ~ I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone responds.

I struggle with writing reviews of books.  

It's that elementary teaching background of mine and my nice Canadian roots.

I don't want to be unkind to or discourage an author, but I want to be frank for the reader.

So I've worked out some guidelines for myself over the years.

I rarely will do a review of a book if I'm asked to write one.

I only review books I have read and enjoyed.

I don't have a set approach or formula.  

Because each book is unique, I'll usually focus on something in it that appeals to me.

Most of the reviews I've written have been for the IWSG

or Dancing Lemur Press which published the IWSG anthologies.

Writing is not easy, and I want to support IWSG members

and fellow authors as much as I can.

I've also participated in book launches for members, 

but that's not usually a review.

It's using material the author's provide.

Now and moving forward in time, I will only write a review if I have time.

Why?

Because I've been reading Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks: 

Time Management for Mortals over the past week.

I have come to the stunning realization that I am never going to catch my tail.

No matter how hardworking, efficient, focused, and determined I am,

I can't do all I've been trying to do.

Terry has been waiting for me to realize this for forty years ~ lol.

That's about 2080 weeks or over 50% of my 4000 weeks, if I make it to 80.  

Yikes!

Just call me a slow learner, stubborn, driven, or even insane!

Ain't Ever Going to Happen!  😂

Google

But that's okay.

As Burkeman says, "After all, once you become convinced

that something you've been attempting is impossible, 

it's a lot harder to keep berating yourself for failing."

(Burkeman (2021), page 28)

 

I'm not quite halfway through Burkeman's book, 

but I've found it fascinating and impactful from the beginning.

Basically he's saying that we are finite beings 

and doing anything requires that we sacrifice all the other things 

we could have chosen to do with that time.

So we have to choose very carefully, focus on several things that are important to us,

and let the rest go, even if it's painful or disconcerting to accept 

that we are limited instead of limitless.

I already feel less stressed and overwhelmed.  

Oliver Burkeman

Enjoy IWSG Day!  And a big thank you to the co-hosts!   

Stay happy, healthy, and safe.

I had wonderful adventures on our Transpacific cruise and in Australia,

and I look forward to sharing some of them in my Friday posts.

Flying Solo!

I thought I'd be terrified, but I was exhilarated!

Ovation of the Seas

Somewhere in the South Pacific

October 2023

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be on Friday, December 15th.