JUNE 2024: A Time Of Growth

I’ve been thinking about how to enlarge my life. Summer is all about growth and I’m making a conscious effort to find ways to expand my life. I’m resisting that ‘slide into aging’ that I witness all around me.

When a friend of mine retired a decade ago, she asked me not to call to get together unless I had something new to do. “Introduce me to a new lunch place we’ve never eaten, or let’s visit a place we’ve never been.” She was ready for brand new experiences. It was cool to find new things for her. Once I ran out of fresh ideas and she didn’t call me, we lost touch.

Last weekend, I spent two nights at a log cabin in the woods on Buck Lake (north of Kingston). The terrain was beautifully rugged. I had no cell service or internet, and I was restored. This week, I have felt less connected to my cell phone and that was wonderful. It’s wormed its way back into my daily life, but I aspire to keep it in proportion. One day at a time…

I refreshed my personal goals during my time in the woods.

I aim to remain physically active, as that’s a basic need to keep exploring. Walking and swimming are my favorite activities. I’m also investigating walking backwards! I heard a good piece with Janet Dufek about the benefits of walking (or even running) backwards and I’ve been trying it. Walking five minutes per day. Not a big commitment, but different muscles get stretched and it’s getting easier. That’s all I can report at this time, but listen or read here. I found her very convincing!

I’m going to listen to new radio stations to discover different points of view. Listen to more Ted Talks rather than scrolling social media.

I intend to expand my repertoire of foods – restaurants and recipes. I’m going to look for new landscapes and places – that may mean travelling a new route to a usual destination or going to new museums and art galleries.

I’ll get to some new places in Europe (Spain, France and Holland) this summer on a trip that I’ll write about afterwards. I hope you have a fantastic summer. Let me know about anything new you plan to do and maybe I’ll try that, too.

Our next Spoken Lives events will be on September 25^th and November 20^th. Hope you can make it out to hear these fabulous stories.

P.S.

That log cabin is rented on AirBnB. If you’re interested, just let me know and I’ll send you a link.

P.P.S.

Kwasi and I are hosting our second photo walk on July 21^st in Kensington Market. If you want to join in the fun, get your ticket here.

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