Making good use of my one wild, precious life
Celebrating 10 years of journaling, getting offline, learning to pay attention, turning 30, and asking for and getting whatever I like
Hi there,
It’s my birthday month!
Five things to share:
I turn 30 this month. With age, I have become less volatile, more sentimental. “The dots connect looking back,” he tells me over our drinks, blabbering to amuse ourselves; he's quoting Steve Jobs. I nod, It is true. When the mood strikes, when I feel brave enough, gentle enough to look back, I pull the plastic bin from under my bed and I rummage through the carefully labelled journals from the past four years. For six years prior to switching to paper I used a free online journal, but I have no immediate access to those now. They’re saved somewhere on a USB stick that is no longer compatible with the Macbook I use, and I am too principled and stubborn to buy the adapter for it. But the $2 notebooks, there is a pile of those now; Pages and pages and pages of daily contemplations— daily tantrums— accessible anytime I feel brave enough, gentle enough, to look back; the living adds up. And whenever I look back, bravely, gently, it shocks and delights me to see how all the dots connect.
The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart
A quote I want to share with you:
When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.
— Shauna Niequist
A question for you:
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver
P.s. I hate to say it, I hate to be so cliché like the adults I used to loathe but if you are in your 20s, if you are feeling lost, dazed, confused, I promise it is true what they say: It does get better. So much better than what your underdeveloped 23-year-old brain can conceive, can grasp. Sooooooooooooo much better. Time is not running out. In fact, there is plenty time ahead of you to try, to flail, fail: Fall flat on your face— It will make for excellent dinnertime stories when you finally get your shit together someday. You don’t have to take my words, just Keep on keeping on, and just like that, one day, someday, you, too, will understand.That’s all for this week!
Thank you for reading, and share with anyone you think may benefit.
time spent offline is now a monthly analog publication you can get delivered straight to your mailbox with 20 ideas every month.
Until next time,
Mehret