As always when I get round to writing one of these posts, there is a lot to report. I am now over my cataract operation, though awaiting a sign-off from the optician, after which I will be booked for my second op. I am not looking forward to the op, but I am very much looking forward to having two eyes that work together again. I can see fine, and can drive – it’s just that I have a strange sense of my left eye not quite playing the enthusiastic game my right eye is engaged in, in which all colours are wonderful, and seeing trees in 3-D is still a huge novelty.
I still have not heard when I might have my right hip replaced, and the longer it is (it will be nine weeks on January 16th) the less likely it looks that I will be fit to fly in April, where I am meant to be giving a keynote speech and running a Dance Movement Therapy workshop. I am keeping my fingers crossed!
I was out of action in terms of exercise for several weeks recently, what with the injured ribs, the cataract op, the weather… and boy! Did I notice a drop in fitness. Here’s a tip for anyone getting older – keep up the walking, in all weathers if possible. It doesn’t cost an awful lot to get waterproof walking gear, and it’s worth it.
Many people set New Year’s resolutions in January. I used to, but I gave up on that long ago. I do, however, think about my general direction of travel and how best to support myself in that trajectory. Whilst I want to do more exercise, meditation, and movement, I am also determined to streamline my life and do less. Be more, do less. As many of you know, I am living with chronic fatigue. One of the coping strategies I am adopting is to do more of the things that give me energy – seeing friends, having a good laugh, going to concerts, walking in the hills, and dancing from within. I’ve set up a gratitude jar for myself so that I can clock those things as I go along, and at the end of the year, it will be a delight to open it up and see what I recorded.
One of the things that has nourished me greatly in the last week was (Quaker) Meeting for Worship. On Sunday, as soon as I sat down I had a sense of the ‘peace that passes all understanding’ in the room, and that stayed with me throughout. It was a very powerful meeting and has sustained me all week.
So – I am doing more, and doing less. You could say I am even doing more of what feels like less.
What is your trajectory? How will you support yourself with that?
ramblings 