Why start a blog now? When people are moving onto YouTube video, and tiktok…and I am sure other media I am not aware of.
Approx. 12 years ago, my sister and I wrote a blog- Marathon Preparation-it was to document our journey from couch potatoes to running a marathon. Well, it was an ambitious goal but we achieved it , walking and running thru shinsplints and low motivation, missing workout sessions and trying to catchup the next day. It was ugly and painful to say the least, but we did manage to get our race medals from the firemen at the end of the San Francisco Marathon.
All through that I enjoyed keeping the blog ,and perusing that recently I realized it worked as a lovely account of that year for me. Trying to manage my time with two young school-going kids, a job, a house, cooking, the laundry etc., just a glimpse into what life was for me in my forties.
And now in my fifties, I have more time, really, no one needs me till meal times- sad, but oh so freeing! I can finally sit with my thoughts and try to get some clarity as to how I want to spend the next few years. As they* say,
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
My plan, desire, aim, goal is basically to live a healthy, happy ,content life. Throw in some purpose, some travel, some learning, some fun with the family and it should be good. Again, as they* say,
Health is wealth.
So the first and foremost attention will be on Health. In my fifty some years observing my parents, their friends, the elders in the family, my own friends and colleagues, I have realized it to be true. Just a simple non-migraine headache, or some stiffness in the joints , or a toothache can spoil a perfectly good day.
Being in good health doesn’t happen in a day or a month, its a marathon, slow and steady and persistent steps taken towards being whole. Small habits built up over days and months can reap big rewards.
It also doesn’t mean that one will never have a headache or a backache , a stroke or cancer, but the hope is that the underlying strong foundation will support the body and mind come through that time.
And the Happiness. Which for me is being with my family. And when I am on my own to be doing something pleasurable. What brings me pleasure? Thats what I am going to find out. I love reading , which, though great, is a passive activity. I can spend my days sitting in a corner with a cup of tea and a good book or my iPad, reading about minimalism and fashion and recipes and marathons, but if I don’t do anything, if I don’t participate, life will just pass away and I will be the eighty year old thinking about the things I could have done, the places I could have been…
Hence the blog. My space to chronicle my journey. And get some clarity of thought.
*’THEY’ are people who pass all these statements emphatically- nobody knows them, everybody agrees with them, has anybody even seen them?? Who knows??