But I don’t think of the future, or the past, I feast on the moment. This is the secret of happiness, but only reached now in middle age.
— Virginia Woolf
Do you agree with Woolf? I had read that people in their 70s tended to be happiest. That was certainly a happy time for me, and I’m still happy now in spite of looming problems. As I’ve said before, keeping as healthy and happy as I can is my job right now, for Kaitlin’s sake if nothing else. That doesn’t mean ignoring problems, it means doing the best we can to prepare and to deal with them, then, to use Woolf’s idea, feast on the present, this moment.
March 15, 2020
I don’t know if I will ever be able to focus on the moment all the time…but I sure wish I could. I can come closest to it when sewing or fishing. I guess cause I have to be focused on what I am doing. I think we become more accepting of our own faults as we get older, or what we perceive as faults.
We don’t have to do it all the time, every little bit helps. The nice thing about focusing on what we’re doing, what we’re experiencing, is that we’re not worried about our faults and virtues. They’re not relevant, and that can be liberating.
what a wonderful quote from Virginia Woolf.
and I love what you’ve said about your job.
“As I’ve said before, keeping as healthy and happy as I can is my job right now.”
and believe me. for some of us (probably a lot of us) that’s quite a job!
other than certain health issues that I’m learning to live with… I can say I am actually the happiest I’ve ever been I think! I’ve finally learned that my total happiness doesn’t depend on other people. only on me. it’s a grand small bit of enlightenment!
Amen to that!
When I lost in my art supplies, I’m in another world … today it’s been the “new art notebook” finding the papers I might use, tearing them with the metal old pruning saw blade and another old blade from a kind of bread knife. Gluing them on to the pages, finding the tape that I bought a few months ago (1: cork look 2: wood grain look) deciding if any of the pages need gluing together,…an so forth.
Then later roasting gourmet sausages for dinner…with some roasted veg on the side.
Just ordinary things, but things that help with living and life…
Yes! It’s our reaction to the little things that makes all the difference.
I find that the older I get the less I worry about things that don’t matter and focus on the positive. Sort of a ” with age comes wisdome” theory
Yes, getting older is a blessing if we work it right.
I try to live each moment, but fail quite a lot. my what iffer goes wild sometimes. I have been happier in my old age but I think that came from leaving the stress of my work place.. I am not happy that my hubby is aging so fast
As Andy says, “one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel.” I’m 80 and Andy 85, so instead of worrying I’m focusing on making most of the time we have left. If something happens to one of us the other will be left with a big hole in their life.
Living in the moment has always been hard for me because I’m a day dreamer which I enjoy sometimes too much that I ignore what needs doing.
I, too, love what you said about your “job.”
It seems to me you’ve been doing a lot! Including mourning your losses and letting go of so much.
I also thought older people were meant to be happier than the young or middle-aged. The middle-aged have so much to worry about – kids, mortgages, keeping their jobs, making pension payments etc. If you’re retired and have an adequate pension, there’s not a lot left to worry you – except maybe poor health. So living in the moment is quite easy.
That was my reaction too. Middle age has so many obligations and stresses. Retirement is great as long as we don’t have to deal with too many health problems, and don’t worry about the future.
I have asked a friend, Paul Bauck, to send you the link to a song on YouTube (he’s the performer). I think you’ll like it too.
Thank you!
Yes!
A friend of mine whose in-laws own a vineyard sent me this poster. I thought of you and your Friday funnies.