make each day count
This year has whizzed by in a blur. It's mostly been reactive rather than proactive as we've worked, travelled (work) and met lots of people (work). We have our final gig this weekend. Together with Bamber's death, and shifting furniture and decluttering at home, it feels as though a line has been drawn.
It started with a simple idea to buy a bookcase. Since we downsized, most of my books have been stored under the two beds. And mostly remained untouched and unseen. I was reading less although still used my Kindle.
The bookcase arrived and I brought my books downstairs and filled the shelves. I moved all the furniture around in our back bedroom to make space for a corner desk. A few trips to the charity shop later and the room has become my writing space.
A couple of bright rugs and cushions, moving a coffee table and acquiring a Hi-Fi unit transformed our lounge. It's gone from a bit utilitarian to cosy.
We have slightly less than three months to the end of the year. Now the decks are cleared I'm regrouping and implementing a plan to focus on what I want to do rather than what I have to do.
Wherever you find yourself in life, it's easy to be distracted by the world around us. When you look back at your life so far, what have you done that is important to you?
This week, here in the UK, author Jeffrey Archer died. His demise was interesting. He spoke on Sunday at an event, died on the Monday - he went for a nap and didn't wake up - and his final book was published on the Tuesday. As someone said, you couldn't write it.
Jeffrey Archer was a marmite character. He had a checkered past.
I met him years ago when he came to Waterstones in Manchester. He was fierce and funny, eloquent and a force of life.
He was a man who had lived a life, paid the price many times, accepted his flaws and moved on.
While I don't want to embrace all aspects of his life, I'd like to be more bold, braver in how I live my own life. More colourful. A bit more Jeffrey.
It's easy to put off living, thinking that we have plenty of time. As Jack Dawson says in Titanic, we have to make each day count.
So, the next three months is the start of a shift, to stop putting off what I really want to do and make time for it.