Well it seems I have trailed this reply for longer than they did the final season of Breaking Bad! I better make it count, right? π
I 100% agree with the aspect of life (in part) just beginning. My 2 daughters are now grown-up, so I feel liberated in some ways to focus on me, maybe it is time I decided what I want to be when I grow up! I too feel like I know who I am more today, the pretence slipped away when I became ill, all those masks we wear in different arenas of life fell away, The real stuff became real.
Image, appearance, ego, vanity... What a bloody laugh, that is not what life is for, or about.
Pondering mortality, I believe, can be a prompting force, I think I explained that poorly (have no fear though, the perfect turn of phrase will present itself at 3.47 AM!!!)
I guess I mean it can be a motivational force, rather than a stalking, brooding shadow lurking in the corner of the darkest recesses of the mind. I intend to grasp it in this spirit to hold myself accountable.
Congratulations on a decade here Eric! π Just imagine that scrolling back to your first ever post would likely reveal a different man, not in totality, but tangibly enough. Stick around these parts just enough to check in with folks and maybe update on the redistribution of said energies, there's always a story to tell, some people may even grab on to some of your journey directions and give themselves permission to do something a little different. Especially at our age, better than learning how to change your life from a 22 year old influencer with shiney white teeth and a 'can do attitude' who has never found a rogue, four foot long hair growing from his back!!!π€£
Walking with the muse...
Sounds very, like something I am going to need to check out in the coming days! π
Take great care and the best of wishes to you and yours, from me and mine. π
I can't imagine all the ways being faced with that kind of news would change you. It's great that you're using it as a motivational force, it speaks to your character and resolve.
Just getting older, in general, and seeing older people around you beginning to have a tougher time mentally and physically is enough to humble a person. I care less and less about what people think now and it's so incredibly freeing. I feel so comfortable in my own skin. I often think about how different my life would be if I had this attitude in my 20's but, alas, it wasn't meant to be. It's almost as though I was performing more than actually living.
Thank you! It's been such an incredible journey here. I was a different person when I began in 2016βchasing success, hungry, no clear idea of where I was heading. Most of those people I began this journey with left long ago, never to return. I've actually started a farewell post several times throughout the course of this year but never published it. When the time comes for me to step away from here I guess I don't want to close the door completely.
Thank you! If you do pick up a copy of WWTM I hope you enjoy it. Best wishes to you and your family as well Steven!
I automatically assumed that was your first book... No clue why, come to think about it π€
I happened to check your website link last night though, and was shocked at the number of releases you have. I actually read the few pages that Amazon allows and decided I far prefer the idea of starting with, sorry I'm gonna butcher the name but have saved it for later, "Poems from the precipice of Armageddon" (told you I'd butcher it, but memorised the flavour)
So, in many ways you have strode forward more than most and actually committed to the writing, learning curve and learning to upload, promote and market, kudos to you! Many live in the opposite state of "show don't tell",
I'm talking to you in the mirror!!!I think we were perhaps not ready for some of the bigger answers in our 20's, maybe wouldn't have had the time or wisdom to see things through.I bet if you honed those 2026 goals now, you would be far more equipped and articulate with them, could be extremely exciting.
Performing not living, yeah, absolutely, not sure about the other species, but that definitely seems to be an intrinsic human trait.
Yeah I had several friends I spoke with over years, I look them up when I am back on chain, I did it last night, to the usual, hasn't posted in 4 years, often more, sad.
Ah, the big Swan song post is for those needing the waves and applause, far better to leave the door ajar, so you can pop in and update us on the next stage of the adventure's'
Sometimes that can provide a spark to others to take some action and follow through
I'm talking to you in the mirror again...Pay attention!Take good care and be well, fabulous to cross paths.
(Please don't feel the need to respond again, I am like the pigeons, feed 'em and they keep returning!)