“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”
—
John Pierpont
Pondering life this week, I sat quietly with this quote and let it wash over me a bit; let myself think bout what it really meant.
I think it's about change. And how you begin.
There is something quite powerful in the thought that by simply deciding that where you are, what you do now, the stays quo as you know it, is not going to be for you in the longer term.
It suggests that that moment of awakening, of acknowledgement and recognition enables us to move forward, gives us a sense that changes are afoot, or could be afoot.
I think it's quite deliberate however that you may still have to decide. It's not like you just follow along and realise I'm moving, sometime you have to stop and say, I am not going to stay this way. You might not yet have the knowledge or tools or resources to head off somewhere else, but you know in your heart that you will.
For me, this quote resonates most about the pace of life, the commitments I make in all spheres of my life and the intensity with which I sometimes fill my days. This year we have decided to actively and knowingly be slower. To commit to less, to take time in our days and let go of things that aren't really all that important in the long run.
We have spent many more hours in our garden, working the block and making it even more beautiful. Giving it the respect it deserves. We have planted, nurtured and harvested so much food and abundance; and we have made the time to process it to value add and to stack our cupboards with preserves and chutneys and nuts and coffee. I feel fortunate to have found my moment of deciding not to stay where I was, without having to be hit over the head by illness or difficulty and then being faced with no option.
Cherry guava jelly on the boil...
John Pierpont
Pondering life this week, I sat quietly with this quote and let it wash over me a bit; let myself think bout what it really meant.
I think it's about change. And how you begin.
There is something quite powerful in the thought that by simply deciding that where you are, what you do now, the stays quo as you know it, is not going to be for you in the longer term.
It suggests that that moment of awakening, of acknowledgement and recognition enables us to move forward, gives us a sense that changes are afoot, or could be afoot.
I think it's quite deliberate however that you may still have to decide. It's not like you just follow along and realise I'm moving, sometime you have to stop and say, I am not going to stay this way. You might not yet have the knowledge or tools or resources to head off somewhere else, but you know in your heart that you will.
For me, this quote resonates most about the pace of life, the commitments I make in all spheres of my life and the intensity with which I sometimes fill my days. This year we have decided to actively and knowingly be slower. To commit to less, to take time in our days and let go of things that aren't really all that important in the long run.
We have spent many more hours in our garden, working the block and making it even more beautiful. Giving it the respect it deserves. We have planted, nurtured and harvested so much food and abundance; and we have made the time to process it to value add and to stack our cupboards with preserves and chutneys and nuts and coffee. I feel fortunate to have found my moment of deciding not to stay where I was, without having to be hit over the head by illness or difficulty and then being faced with no option.
Cherry guava jelly on the boil...
Incredibly inspiring.
ReplyDeleteJ, thank you…we are trying hard to re-negotiate our daily lives and find ways to be quieter and calmer. We are both a bit hectic at times, but our priorities have shifted. Sometimes knowing you need to move or change is a great realisation…go well.
DeleteWe pace our lives according to our own desires. To remain still for a while, or advance, is our own decision. The object is not to go into reverse.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of not going in reerse Jo! Sometimes it doesn't feel as if we are the creators of our own destinies and events or circumstances swallow us up; but we are the deciders of our responses and reactions so yes, choosing to go fast forward or slow is often ours to make,
DeleteChoices, to choose to acquire less and to choose to give more. To choose a different path, with age does the choosing get easier? We have also chosen different paths this year to cook and eat more nutritious healthy food.Wish we had the option of growing our own food.That cherry guava jelly looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteSo true Maya, there are so many levels on which we can choose and so many small ways in which we can change. We each find our way. We are very fortunate to a) live in a climate where things grow easily and b) to have block of a size where we can and c) have time and resources to give to growing. I have become totally enamoured of gathering and cooking our own food, is a true joy and delight! Go well.
DeleteFabulous quote Fiona and a fabulous 'tour' of your plot. It all sound so tropical and a million miles away from the stuff we grow here in the UK. I am amazed to read you grow coffee but why should I be surprised given your climate? Cherry guava jelly looks and sounds divine. I imagine it smells heavenly too. Somehow I don't think my gooseberry crop is going to come close to emulating it!
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley - our sub-tropical world does differ a wee bit from Wales, but also from lots of parts of Australia too! We have been drinking our own coffee (all processed here on the block, single source and no food miles) since January and think we'll get a year's worth from last harvest. Today - more citrus so marmalade, orange cake and grout cleaner (with the lemons); and more cherry guavas so jelly here we come. Sweet chilli sauce has also been abundant - perhaps I should do a blog on the year's harvest to date! Good luck with your gooseberries!
DeleteWhat a wonderful quote that gets right to the heart of things - yet change is not always easy. I find I often know I want to move from where I am, but the direction is elusive or difficult to understand or a situation seems to prevent it. But then, it can be easier to accept excuses that impede rather than finding the right route. I guess no one said it should be easy ...
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for not replying earlier Charlton - everything you say is so true. It's not always easy to know where to head or how to do it…sometimes it takes years to get that worked out; but it does start with a little sense or feeling that we need to change direction… As you say, nobody ever said it would be easy! Go well.
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