Skip to main content

Feeling Alive

 

This summer we had the pleasure of visiting Jack London State Park near Sonoma twice. While this post isn't about our walk there, it is inspired by his (Jack's) words. 

I wasn't previously aware of his life and all that he accomplished, but we were all quite impressed. One famous quote of Jack's that stuck with me (since it plays to my interests) is

The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time

I found this to be a great reminder to LIVE. My cancer diagnosis and treatment, that started in Spring 2023 didn't leave me with a new lease on life, but in a way left me feel mortal. A good reminder perhaps. I don't necessarily live differently. I make some slightly different food choices, I no long drink alcohol, I make sure to lift heavy weights, and go to my appointments. However, with my love of habits and mindfulness, I am reminded to actually live. So many of us are going through the motions, are busy and unaware of life passing us by.

I wanted to put down a post today, even a small one. I've had blogging re-occurring in my calendar, but have been giving myself the grace to do other things as necessary/instead. Although the past few days I felt that I had moments of living, so I wanted to share.

While bike riding in Yosemite, I felt the light breeze, I watched my children race away confidently and uninhibited, and I felt alive and fully present. Then again last night, I saw my husband and son working on a project together. They were fully immersed in their task and had no other distractions. I felt like I was watching a very special moment.

As I continue to learn about mindfulness, the themes of being present and non-judgmental continue to come up. So today, I just want to remind you to be in your life. Whatever you're doing, be there, use your time wisely. 

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bay Area Young Survivors Breast Cancer Memorial Garden

*This was written at the start of summer, but I am only now getting around to posting it :) My son and I recently set out to find the  Bay Area Young Survivors Breast Cancer Memorial Garden in Golden Gate Park. I knew it existed and had just been opened.  I think it's great that BAYS was able to create this Memorial Garden with the help of San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. It doesn't feel like a small thing, it feels quite large (in my heart anyway). It is the first public memorial of its kind in the USA. They have done a BIG thing by doing this 'small' thing as a way of remembrance and creating a place of connection. We did love the design and the ability for people to leave flowers.  I enjoyed the location, the views, the benches, the quotes. However, it did bring up questions from my then seven year old: "Why is breast cancer so popular?" "Why isn't your name here?" So we continue to have harsh realities and have hard conversatio...
Post a Comment
Read more

Museum Visit & Magazine Weaving (ICA SF)

We visited the new location for the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (345 Montgomery Street) back in January. I have been doing other things, but am now here to share what we created based on our visit. As part of their 'Poetics of Dimensions' exhibit by artist  Miguel Arzabe  we looked at different ways of weaving, like his 'Last Weaving' (shown above). Then of course we found our way to their Makers Studio to find old magazines to use to make our own woven art (*we love museums that have hands on spaces for adults & kids to be artists too!). His: Hers: Mine: We also had fun seeing the art of a claw game. The kids were able to get coins from the front desk and we talked about the psychology of wanting to win, feeling like you can win, and then losing. The kid were familiar with these types of games, but the exhibit challenged them to see it differently and as art. ICA SF is always free and was an easy train ride for us. If you haven't been, we'd ...
Post a Comment
Read more