Going through a period of high stress and misery can help bring priorities to light. Being miserable and under constant stress are not among my goals in life, either short-term or long-term. I've made changes in the past when I've found myself unhappy with my daily life and am in the process of doing this again.
My eating is getting better. Less crap prepared by others and more fresh food prepared by moi. I'll be checking out the local farmers market more starting next month when my schedule eases up.
My exercise is set to increase. I've not had the time nor energy to incorporate aerobic exercise into my daily schedule. While breaking cement with a sledgehammer does build muscles, it has done nothing for my stamina. With the weather cooling, I'll be adding a walk or bike ride every day.
I want more nature in my life. There is a nice state park not too far from us; we plan to go hiking there at least once a week. We're also spending more time enjoying the birds in our yard. Can you believe there are still flowers blooming here and butterflies on the wing? In November? There are some advantages to being in the desert.
Moving is on hold. For financial and personal reasons, we are going to hold off on putting the house up for sale for at least a year. This will have the added benefit of easing up the schedule of decluttering, doing minor fix-up work, and finding an appropriate fifth wheel for our future plans.
I want less clutter in my life. In December, I will finally have the time to tackle the clutter that has built up in the house. I look forward to overhauling the files, putting away all the new paperwork and discarding old outdated files. I'll be sorting through absolutely everything in the house (and storage) to determine what adds value to our lives and what is just clutter.
I'm also tackling those same issues in other areas of my life: what thoughts and which habits are valuable and which are dragging my life down; what relationships bring joy to my life; and how do I really want to spend my finite time on this earth.
It won't be easy. I've never found change to be easy, but the pay-off should make it worthwhile.
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13 comments:
It's good to have you back to sounding like yourself again :).
Sounds like a solid plan. Stepping back and reevaluating will help with making better choices, and get you both out reactionary mode. Good luck with everything.
One thing you might want to try - figure out the square footage of storage available in the average 5th wheel, and set aside that much, and no more, divided between your kitchen, bedroom, bath, etc.
Then pare down your stuff until everything fits.
And no, I don't think I could ever do this - my books alone would do me in :)
I'm very sorry to hear about the funeral of your friend. Too many times I've been so distracted by to omany things or overwhelming circumstance and I've forgotten important events or bills.
Enjoy the weather! It certainly is nice these days. :)
peace, shamba
Hear hear.
I would LOVE to begin that process right now. Unfortunately the things that are stressing me out so much are the things I depend on for my livelihood -- my job, and my schooling.
Glad you are sounding more upbeat.
+1 for that state park! Wish I was there. <3
Wendy - I'm starting to feel more "human" again but now I want what I want!
Nomikins - time to re-evaluate everything. We haven't really been in reactionary mode as much as it may seem from reading the blog. This is because there are quite a few things that I have not posted about on the blog. Without the full details, ya'll get an incomplete picture.
K - cute dog photo. :)
I've thought about that square footage idea and will probably do something like that. When we looked at some at a show recently, it was quite the reality check, especially for (lack of) kitchen storage!
Shamba - The mornings are so nice and cool that it always surprises me when the afternoons warm up so much!
TFHS - been there so I can empathize with that stress. It can really suck.
Risa - it's a nice park in the cooler months but too hot to really enjoy in the summer unless you get out on the trail by 5 am. 'Course Mt. Pisgah and other trails in your area are nothing to sneeze at...
Uncluttering life is such a relief - then the challenge is to keep it that way. Builds strong (emotional) muscles....
Having a small space will help a lot.
This sounds like a really great plan. Sometimes we just have to slow it down just a bit, and I think you've figured out how to handle it all.
You sound so much more optimistic! I'm sure it will all work out for you :)
E - the real challenge will be doing the decluttering while we still have space!
Farmgal - I don't necessarily feel more optimistic. Now that we've finished doing what we had no choice but to do, I feel more determined to choose my own way now. This means making some changes, and some of these changes will be ones others don't agree with or understand. That's okay. They don't have to live with the decisions or results; I do!
PS: No, I'm not leaving my sweetie in case anyone is worried that I'm contemplating that. No way, no how. He's stuck with me. :)
That sounds like a plan :)
Much better than rushing everything and then ending up even worse off than before.
You sound more like yourself too - was beginning to get worried there for a bit.
viv in nz
That's what I've been doing in my spare time -- trying to get rid of all the clutter and years of files that can be tossed... Have been using one of the desk scanners to do my paperwork and it's been great.
Glad to see you're putting your house sale on hold... I've been worried about you, with all this pressure and stress... Take the time to smell the roses and come visit when you can...
Viv - okay, what have I been posting that didn't sound like "me"? Everyone's saying this, someone tell me which parts.
The anger, the sledgehammer? The depression? The frustration? Those have been here before; maybe not for as long or as prominently, but they have made appearances...
Sharlene - no scanner here, just brutal tossing of files. Do I really need school report cards back to 4th Grade?!
Nope, won't stop to smell the roses. Can't stand the smell of roses, actually. I also think diamonds are ugly and don't particularly like champagne. What does that make me? A cheap date! ;-)
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