Earlier in the week I posted about having an estimated 4000 weeks of life (assuming you live to 80). That may sound exciting or depressing, but it got me thinking. I’m 40, so that gives me 2000 weeks to live (fingers crossed) so I’d better get on with it.
And then my parents asked me to cut the hedge.
It’s a big hedge, but I’ve lived at their house whilst I’ve wrapped up my Adventures In Happiness story so I’m not complaining – except that’s another week down. At first I moaned like a teenager when asked to do it (I’m regressing) but once I got into the work, I discovered I really enjoyed the simple labour.
It’s not complicated, it’s just work, and it’s easy, and there’s something rewarding about that. But it also gave me chance to practise ‘being in the moment’ of what I was doing.
I’m not going all mindfulness here, but it was a great reminder of how scattered my thoughts are. I’m not sure this is good or bad but I don’t think it helps with day-to-day living.
Take from that what you will, but I thought it was poignient because being in this very moment is all we every really have. Plus I got to write a blog post about cutting a hedge.
Happy Friday. Happy every-damn-day.
PS. This, and many other topics, are something I touch on subtly in my book. Whilst it is predominently a story of travel, it is also a story of change and what I learnt as I grabbed life by the hand and went on my own adventure. Whether I remember to apply them in my own day-to-day living is another story of course. But I am trying!
John Alex Clarke 