#18 — Plan for the future to live in the moment
I’m heading off on a big adventure this week. If all goes as planned, you’ll still get a newsletter in your inbox a week from today. If technology along the rails and trails fails me, I’ll be back in two weeks — when I’ll also be traveling. June is BUSY!
Plan to Live in the Moment
In last week’s edition, I urged you to spend some time designing your summer.
My friend Diana hit reply on that edition and we were able to grab coffee while I was in Richmond, Indiana for the weekend. Diana and I love to get together to let our pups play but we also love to get together to just catch up with one another. Our conversation over coffee reminded me that one of the reasons I like to plan is so that I can live in the moment.
I spent the weekend in Richmond enjoying some family time which included lots of moments that weren’t on my summer plan as well as moments that were on my summer plan. An impromptu cookout at my niece’s house, my sister and I going together to get pedicures, going to a couple of cemeteries to see some old family graves that I need to add to my genealogy research, a planned lunch at my other niece’s house complete with a water balloon fight for the littles, and the lovely coffee meeting with Diana. Nowhere on my list though was a stroll through the Richmond Rose garden — not even my list for the weekend.
So, how did the Rose Garden come about? We had talked about the rose garden after I arrived in town as the Bloom and Glow hot air balloon event was being held at the park by the Rose Garden that night. I drove across Richmond the next day to get my oil changed. As I passed the rose garden, I got a glimpse at how incredibly beautiful it was this year.
The next day, my sister and I were taking care of a few things before going out to her daughter’s for the aforementioned cookout. She offered to drop me at the Rose Garden with my camera so I could take photos while she continued doing a couple of other things before we headed out. I enjoyed about 20 minutes just taking in the incredible scent and the beautiful flourishes of color.
The rose garden stroll will be a favorite memory of this year — and yet it was nowhere on the list and nowhere on the plan. My favorite museum in Paris from my trip a decade ago (Musee d’Orsay) was nowhere on the plan. Some of my favorite moments of trips were never on the plan. They are the moments when I lived entirely in the present. They are the moments when I was entirely aware of the environment around me — where I experienced in fully. And even more importantly, they are the moments when I was fully present with the people in my life — the people I love.
So, make plans. Design your summer. Plan a trip. And always remember, we have only this one moment. Nothing more is ever guaranteed.
What I Published This Week
Visits with Grandpa | PeakD — peakd.com
Kona published a little something this week about his extended visit with his grandpa.
My thoughts on Eleanor and Hick | PeakD — peakd.com
I finished Eleanor and Hick and decided to post a few thoughts.
It’s Time to update your LinkedIn “About” Page — My Before and After and a List of Resources I Used — www.monarchstrategiesllc.com
I’ve gotten out of publishing on my blog for the company website and I’m trying to rebuild the habit. This one was practical as I both wrote about my process AND did the process at the same time.
What I’m Reading This Week
The Cartographers: A Novel
I’m trying to add more fiction into my reading life and this is a wonderful story. It was recommended both by the Bible Binge and by Ann Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy and both are right — it’s wonderful.
Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don’t Work
I definitely recommend the hard cover of this book. I got both the ebook and the hard cover from my library and the ebook is not good at all.
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World — www.amazon.com
This is a read following a listen. I loved this on audio and am now making my way through it in written form. It’s very good.
Tools, Tips, and Tricks
I had to make a photo’s file size much, much smaller than the original this week. I know how to do this with photoshop but that is SUCH a hassle. So, I did a quick google search for a free online option and came to https://www.tinypng.com
The site is easy to use. Upload your original image, a little green progress bar will run along the screen letting you know the image is being compressed. That green bar will then get the word “Finished” in it and you’ll see a “download” link to the right of the progress bar along with a negative percentage telling you how much the file size was reduced by.
I reduced the file size of the photo by 87% and yet it still looks great. You can add up to 20 images to the tool at once so if you’re trying to send family photos by email you might want to keep this tool in your toolbox for that photo that somehow gets over the file size limit of your email provider.
Diversion
One of my favorite podcasts is The Bible Binge. Recently, I’ve taken to listening more often to the hosts, Knox and Jamie’s other podcast, The Popcast. It’s tagline: “A weekly podcast educating you on things that entertain, but do not matter” is an utterly perfect description of the show.
They just wrapped up a “live show tour” and published one of their “Please Advise” episodes featuring clips from their live show. I find laughter comes to me more easily now and this episode had me laughing like crazy.
How You Can Support My Work
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You can support me financially by buying me a virtual coffee. Thanks to Becky who offered a note of encouragement and bought a coffee last week!
