As an older person, okay – a very old person – my life has slowed down considerably. I still do things though not as much or not so quickly. It’s not that I take naps in the afternoon, I’m not that old. It’s just that I try to slow down and enjoy the things that I do.
For example, my wife set me a task to cut up and sauté onions, and then to do the same with some mushrooms while she was at an appointment. I didn’t rush the work and focused on what I was doing. It wouldn’t do to burn the onions or the mushrooms, something that used to happen when I was younger and perpetually in a rush to do something else.
A second task for me this morning, one that I set for myself, was the trimming of branches on a tree in our backyard as some were touching a fibre optic wire, and others were hampering the smooth operation of a clothesline. Since no one appeared to be moving next door on the other side of the fence, I risked doing the task in my preferred manner, sans vêtements. No one saw, and no one was offended.
After a delicious lunch of mushroom-chicken linguine, I went out onto the deck to grab some sunshine. This has become a habit when there is any sunshine to be had.
Then, we went for a short three kilometre walk around the edge of town, a day-off kind of walk with a stop at the post office to check for mail. Once back home, it was time for me to sit still indoors and work on a new novel. I am writing a dystopian story set a dozen years in the future, a story that is a natural result of how our contemporary issues as western nations caught in the throes of populism, lose their hold on democracy.
A final note, if you are interested is reading the story written so far, about thirteen thousand words, leave a message here in the comments, along with your email address, and I will send you what has been written.