How do You Live?

How You Live, written by Cindy Morgan and performed by Point of Grace is a necessary reminder for me that's been reverberating in my heart and mind.  The point of life is not about where we are going or how fast we get there.  Life is how I am living and the impressions I'm leaving right here and now- the gifts of today- the sights, the sounds, the people, the presence.

Being a little bit (maybe a lot) of a doer, always pushing for the future, achieving goals, looking ahead, etc. I sometimes lose sight of the way I'm living right now.  Am I living life in a blur? Am I appreciating the people I'm around right now? How am I living?

I heard in an interview recently, "'These are the days that you will look back on and say to yourself, "those were the good old days.'"

I don't want to look back and remember that I was rushed and busy and preoccupied and didn't pay attention to the "how" of my living.

By no means am I suggesting that we drop what we are seeing after- that will lead to regrets! I am suggesting that we embrace the thought that how we live leaves a lingering effect on the people around us.

But the method, the how is very important. In fact, I believe the how is more characteristic of the person we are, then any external end result.  How we live is important. How we treat others. How we handle the inevitable problems and trials and stormy days. How we spend time with our families- or don't spend time.

How did I spend my time?

One of the lines from the chorus says, Don't hold in your anger or leave things unspoken...wear your red dress, use your good dishes, and make a big mess and make lots of wishes. Have what you want and want what you have...

Ironically, if we get the how to live part of living right, we'll get to the end of our lives- whether young or old, whether we achieved our dreams and desires or not- and be happy with our days.  I can't control the outcomes of the future or other people. I don't know whether my writing will be liked or my side hustle projects will work. Will I fulfill my dream of being a full time artist and teaching others in workshops?  Honestly, I don't know.

How will I live? That I have a little more control over. Enough days focused on how I live will add up to a beautiful life.

If you'd like to listen to the song, you can listen  on youtube here.

And thanks for reading this more personal post.  I'm afraid there may not be a lot of tangible takeaways from it, but I hope you too, aim to live a full life, full of loud music, a few chances and lots of wonderful moments and memories with families and friends; a life full of adventure, just like my humble and reluctant favorite hero, Bilbo Baggins.

We won't regret it.

My dear friend's parents recently decided to leave their home of 28 years and settle in another place, quite a ways away to have a different kind of life: less upkeep and less expensive, more space and less traffic, more working with their hands and less moving in a fast pace.  These pictures are from Becky and Ed's home.  Becky has developed a lovely way of taking neutral colors and infusing a spot of color and just the right amount of furniture to make a house a lovely, simple home.  Thank you Becky and Ed, for allowing me photograph your former home and spending time there with your family.