Notes on Hope and Ageing

I have not written a blog entry in a few months so I am having a go at this one. The issue is, that Blogger updated and changed, a lot. I am battling my way through and we will see how we go. It does not work in the same way that it did and this may be just an experiment. We will see. Now on with the entry. It seems to have worked and I will now attempt to hit "publish" and then I will try a quick edit. 

Sunset on the Hay Plains, New South Wales 15 November 2015 from my book, An Australian Birding Year published by John Beaufoy Publishing. I will do a longer post about the book release soon. It is out now.

Ageing is, it just is. Acceptance is a process. Acceptance does not mean surrender, but it does mean accepting some facts because they are facts. Acceptance is similar to surrender, but there is a passivity in surrender that I equate with "giving up." Acceptance is a proactive giving up, surrender seems less so. But they are both just words.

For me it means to learn to understand that finally, I do have a few limitations and I will learn to accept them without resentment and without grieving. There is grieving in these ageing changes, whether I acknowledge it or not. As I look back on the last three years, I grieve a bit. I miss some things that are gone and can never be again. There is no way around that, I have to accept it and move along. 

I made a meme a while ago that said, “Do it now. You never know when too late will happen.” And that is truth. There does indeed come a point for a few things when they are no longer possible. The old saying, “It is never too late to…” Well, sometimes it is. I wrote briefly about this a few months back. 

Another from the Hay Plains just before massive thunderstorms. It was beautiful out there.

I am working toward identifying, and then focusing on, my future in two stacks. These are not unlike the serenity prayer. “To accept the things I cannot change and the courage to change the things I can.” That is a cornerstone for living, regardless of alcoholism and recovery. That is just living wisdom. So, my two stacks are as follows… 

 Stack One: Things that have become, and must remain, impossible to do anymore. Those will need graceful acceptance. 

 Stack Two: Things that are now, or will be, possible for me to do. Some of these will require effort and possibly changes in the way I do them, but they will be doable. These are the things from which hope can rise out of the emptiness. This stack must to be the larger of the two stacks for there to be any quality of life. 

A Southern Emu-wren from Anglesea Heath 2015 because there should be a bird photo in here and I do love me some Emu-wrens.

Hope is one of the most important words for me. It is an indispensable concept for my life. There have been times in the past when I had lost hope. There have been times in the last few years when the light of hope seemed to have flickered and gone out. And then yet, somehow, it was always rekindled. I have some hopes and plans. Hopes and dreams are the two words often put together, but I need the more solid word “plan.” I am planning some things. Plans need to be fluid and flexible. I can look forward to something without being completely attached to the outcome. It is the “hope” that is the important part.

One of my sources of hope. I do own a Troop Carrier camper and I can (when I can afford the fuel) go almost anywhere in Australia. Her name is Troopi.

Expectations can bring misery or hope. It is the attachment to outcomes that is the tricky part, but so important in quality of life (dealing with this new program on this blog website that I use is sorely testing these thoughts. I do expect things to work and that often does not apply to modern technology, hahaha).

I will see about adding some images and move forward with, hopefully posting this. Crossed fingers as we say. 

I write therefore I am. I share therefore it's real. I have hope therefore I am alive.