Always Learning

I learned a lot in 2023.

I learned how to play pickleball and American Mah Jongg, though I am quite a beginner in both. I learned how to prepare delicious gluten-free meals with the help of oat flour, a cup of patience, and heaping tablespoons of trial-and-error experiments. I learned that I must work out twice as hard as I used to if I want to stay fit or at least maintain a certain level of fitness, and if I push too hard, I will likely injure myself which means a much lengthier recovery time. Instead of weeks, it might be months or longer.

I learned that average global temperatures are rising even faster than predicted. Heat records across the earth were broken in 2023. In the USA, twenty-one species, including birds, a bat, and several mussels, were labeled extinct in 2023. 233 mammalian species are on the “critically endangered list.” The World Meteorological Organization foresees 2024 to be even hotter than 2023, and it might be the first year that the earth’s temperature norms overshoot by 1.5 degrees Celsius.

I learned that when I met with friends whom I had not seen in years and thought to myself, oh my, don’t they look old, they were thinking the same about me.

I learned that holding on is harder than letting go and that I do not need as much stuff as I think I do. Living simply is an art I will continue to practice in 2024.

I learned that things don’t always turn out the way I think they will, or the way they should, or that when things go wrong, I might not be able to change or fix them.

I learned how to quickly alter plans and reassess things from an eagle’s eye perspective instead of getting mired down in detail and that what-ifs can be the kiss of death on moving forward.

I learned a lot in 2023, but the biggest thing I learned, or rather relearned, is that no matter what if I have my loved ones by my side, anything and everything is possible.

Happy 2024 everyone. 12 new chapters. 365 new chances.

“How do you spell love?” asked Piglet. “You don’t spell it. You feel it,” said Pooh.  ~ Winnie the Pooh

Enjoy the Passage of Time.

Sharon

© 2024. Sharon Kreider. All Rights Reserved.