Too busy

Kevin Peacocke

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I have lived a good life and plan to live an even better one for the rest. But looking back I was always busy achieving stuff and although it is all good stuff, there were many smaller personal goals that slipped through the cracks along the way. This isn't a sob story of what might have been, but rather a reminder, a reset, to pick some of the missed items back up and get it right this time. And for sure to quit short changing ones self when just a little less busy-ness would allow some balance.
So here is my latest - I love knives and have been planning to get one made that ticks every single box, something really special. I collected some handle wood, old dense bauganvillia and hung it under the eaves for 20 years. Eventually I commissioned the knife, was meaning to give the maker that wood, got too busy, and the knife arrived in the meantime. All wrong! The wood is bland and uninspiring. This time I am not accepting that. So back it goes and we will put the correct wood on, no compromise.
What is your pickup item now that you have more time, or ready not to waste the precious stuff?
 
That first paragraph Kevin... Outstanding. I think we all arrive at that point in some way, no matter how hard we try along the way.

Me... Time with my kids, working on my cabin, just taking each day as a blessing. I fly out today from RSA after checking one box, and it could not have went better.
 
I hear ya! I've been extremely lucky and thankful to also have done so many things of such variety. Doubly so with the blessing of good health I've enjoyed over the past 70+ years. An objective or goal is not so specific for me any more. It has become more the quality of the journey. A couple of weeks ago I was throwing flies on one of the local waters that holds but few fish. Near perfect conditions for wet fly but the last several years the trout densities have continually dropped in this stretch of river. The dirty secret of the new age of "wild trout management" really translates into hands off, no management and few fish- but damn nice SST toilets though, well supplied with paper! :) Nonetheless, I got the greatest kick out of a few nearly perfectly executed roll casts of the weighted tip line coupled with neat mends upstream in the tough roily conditions of the run off.

Matter of fact just dreaming today of cozying a tease of an egg sucking leech or flesh fly into the nose of a coho about mid/late August. Maybe lower Naknek or the little jewel of SE AK, the Situk. Checked airfares today and looks like roundtrip only $700 or so. Actually, more than catching a bunch of silvers, kind of want to touch base with some old acquaintances in King Salmon (Naknek) or Yakutat (Situk). Just have to put the potential of the most vicious tag team attack bugs I know of (sans the tsetse of course), in the back of my mind and not think of it. The skeeters and white sox of King Salmon rival any pestilence I've experienced. :) but hey, that is part of the journey!
 
That first paragraph Kevin... Outstanding. I think we all arrive at that point in some way, no matter how hard we try along the way.

Me... Time with my kids, working on my cabin, just taking each day as a blessing. I fly out today from RSA after checking one box, and it could not have went better.
Can't wait for this report TT, can only imagine how good it was. Have a safe trip home.
 
The country music group "Alabama" has a song called "I'm in a hurry and don't know why"

First verse is:
I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why.

 
yes I think more and more about my mortality every day. When I was younger, those thoughts literally scared me to the core, even depressed for the 2 minutes I'd allow myself to think about it. I'm at a cross roads, I suspect similar to yours, in that I realize more about what really matters in life. I yearn for the ability to free myself of things I think I need, and secretly am too scared to let go of. I yearn for even a couple days strapped together than I don't have a body pain of some type. But I'm working on making the mental transition and have been getting to some of the things I passed over earlier in my life.
I thought you were going to say, you wanted to learn to make your own knives :)
 
Great thread topic...

The older I get the more I value "the little things" and the more attention I pay to the details.. I dont worry as much about what I might be missing or not experiencing so much as now I focus on getting the most out of whatever experiences are afforded me..

I saw a great video clip back in November that made me reassess how I have looked at life for most of the time I have been on the planet.. The guy in the clip spoke to having an "attitude of gratitude" and got into some pretty good detail about how humans tend to think about all of the things we dont have, or havent accomplished, etc.. and that we are never satisfied as a result of it.. that simply reflecting on being grateful for what we do have, and for what we have been allowed to experience and accomplish, etc.. can be life changing, bring more happiness, etc.. He then transitioned into talking about the way we talk or address things like "I have to take my daughter to school" and how that we negatively program ourselves when we do that.. whether that is a pleasant task or not, stating "have to" makes the action a burdon in our minds.. he advocated replacing "have to" with "get to".. his point was that its a blessing to have a child.. its a greater blessing to have access to education for that child.. its an even greater blessing that you have a vehicle and the ability to take the child somewhere they need to be... a large part of the planets population dont have those blessings.. so be grateful and program your mind to let you experience the happiness that comes from gratefulness as opposed to the burdoning that comes from "having" to do someting... He took it further with an example of someone saying "I have to go to work today"... no matter how miserable a task might be at work, isnt it great to actually have a job when so many people dont? to have the opportunity to do something productive with your day? etc.. How many of us actually have jobs or careers that we do like and enjoy, but still refer to them in a negative or neutral context by saying "I have to" conduct task X.. or "I have to" get to the office by 8.. etc..

He summed up with the fact that death is one of the few things we are all guaranteed in life.. and that none of us knows when death will come to us.. We need to spend more time appreciating what life has provided and being grateful for what we have done, can do, and continue to experience and be happier people.. as opposed to worrying about how we're going to get a bigger house, a faster car, etc.. Happiness is in and of itself a form of success.. and we shouldnt sacrifice it to obtain other forms of success...
 
I know the feeling of too many things to do and not enough time to do them. I used to worry about that but in the last couple years and some serious talks with me, myself, and I--and the dog, we came to the conclusion that we can do only so much. Therefore, I take each day as it comes and do what I can in the alloted timeframe. What doesn't get done today can wait until tomorrow.

I no longer have to worry about that dirty four letter word concerning putting beans on the table. I am happily retired so my time is my own. I thought for awhile I had probably 10 years left ( I'm 81) but I took an online survey from Northwestern Insurance Co. Great surprise! According to that I am going to live to be 101!! Look out, world. I'm going to harass you for quite some time.

So, don't sweat the petty shit. Everything is petty shit when you break it down. Lighten up and live a little. It's good for your health.
 
yes I think more and more about my mortality every day. When I was younger, those thoughts literally scared me to the core, even depressed for the 2 minutes I'd allow myself to think about it. I'm at a cross roads, I suspect similar to yours, in that I realize more about what really matters in life. I yearn for the ability to free myself of things I think I need, and secretly am too scared to let go of. I yearn for even a couple days strapped together than I don't have a body pain of some type. But I'm working on making the mental transition and have been getting to some of the things I passed over earlier in my life.
I thought you were going to say, you wanted to learn to make your own knives :)
I actually made a knife once Buck Wild, literally by hand with a file and then water paper, no grinder. Boy it took ages, but it was so satisfying. You know what? i may make another. I hope you get well soon, pain is such a draining thing, nobody deserves it.
 
Great thread topic...

The older I get the more I value "the little things" and the more attention I pay to the details.. I dont worry as much about what I might be missing or not experiencing so much as now I focus on getting the most out of whatever experiences are afforded me..

I saw a great video clip back in November that made me reassess how I have looked at life for most of the time I have been on the planet.. The guy in the clip spoke to having an "attitude of gratitude" and got into some pretty good detail about how humans tend to think about all of the things we dont have, or havent accomplished, etc.. and that we are never satisfied as a result of it.. that simply reflecting on being grateful for what we do have, and for what we have been allowed to experience and accomplish, etc.. can be life changing, bring more happiness, etc.. He then transitioned into talking about the way we talk or address things like "I have to take my daughter to school" and how that we negatively program ourselves when we do that.. whether that is a pleasant task or not, stating "have to" makes the action a burdon in our minds.. he advocated replacing "have to" with "get to".. his point was that its a blessing to have a child.. its a greater blessing to have access to education for that child.. its an even greater blessing that you have a vehicle and the ability to take the child somewhere they need to be... a large part of the planets population dont have those blessings.. so be grateful and program your mind to let you experience the happiness that comes from gratefulness as opposed to the burdoning that comes from "having" to do someting... He took it further with an example of someone saying "I have to go to work today"... no matter how miserable a task might be at work, isnt it great to actually have a job when so many people dont? to have the opportunity to do something productive with your day? etc.. How many of us actually have jobs or careers that we do like and enjoy, but still refer to them in a negative or neutral context by saying "I have to" conduct task X.. or "I have to" get to the office by 8.. etc..

He summed up with the fact that death is one of the few things we are all guaranteed in life.. and that none of us knows when death will come to us.. We need to spend more time appreciating what life has provided and being grateful for what we have done, can do, and continue to experience and be happier people.. as opposed to worrying about how we're going to get a bigger house, a faster car, etc.. Happiness is in and of itself a form of success.. and we shouldnt sacrifice it to obtain other forms of success...
A great message Midwest, thank you. Attitude is not so much a mindset as what defines our absorption of life.
 
fourfive8... You are too far east. You need to be west of Dillingham.

375 Ruger Fan... I think about this song from time to time for the very reasons you suggest. Stop. And. Smell. The. Roses.
I know! I'm a little familiar with Dillingham and the upper Nushagak/Big Bend, but not with the areas to the west of Dillingham until way over to the area between Bethel and the Kilbucks. Even some time in Koliganek. Now that is a village where one could hide from the big city.... and some have :) Knew a bush pilot who lived there- that was awhile back tho. I did crunch the numbers on getting to the Nushagak or other rivers in the area for a few days of DIY fishing this year but it adds an extra bush flight and at least triples the cost of the trip. For sheer numbers of available kings, the Nushagak is hard to beat. But my window of opportunity is fairly short this year and probably best matches the silver run and is on tight budget. Heck I know most scoff at catching chums but I really enjoy swinging or teasing a leech down into the head of a deepening hole with tight line and feeling that initial take. Then trying to guess what fish is on within the first second or two. To me it's extremely interesting and enjoyable to try to feel the difference. The "clank" hard mouth, bone on hook point take of a chum vs the grab and toss of a silver. Odd little thing you know :)
 
I suspect most of us who have reached the land beyond 65 have moments where we look back and think, "what the hell"? I have those moments when I think about the things I didn't do. Usually nothing to do with making money, more time with the kids before they all scattered, spending time exploring the world and working on my personal health. But there aren't any do-overs. We get this moment and nothing else is guaranteed.

When I was 62 I took stock of where I was physically and decided I'd put that off long enough. Lost some weight and took up running. Nothing outrageous distance wise 2-3 miles 3 or 4 times a week at the speed of a crippled turtle. But that's allowed me to do some things at 70 that would have been impossible when I was 59.

I made this yesterday and saw this thread today. We're only allotted now, the past is gone and the future doesn't exist.

IMG_5411online.jpg
 
fourfive8... Very true for the kings on the Nush. Togiak Refuge - west of DLG - has INCREDIBLE fishing for other species (in addition to salmon). Some of our smaller rivers get little to no activity most years. If course I admit to bias whereas I am the visitor services/outreach person for the refuge. :p Bias aside the fishing really is beyond description.
 
fourfive8... Very true for the kings on the Nush. Togiak Refuge - west of DLG - has INCREDIBLE fishing for other species (in addition to salmon). Some of our smaller rivers get little to no activity most years. If course I admit to bias whereas I am the visitor services/outreach person for the refuge. :p Bias aside the fishing really is beyond description.

Awesome job in amazing country. I was always amazed that someone paid me very well to live in AK!
 
If I may ask, what did you get to do by way of employment in Alaska?
 
If I may ask, what did you get to do by way of employment in Alaska?

Led the refining and terminal assets for Williams energy then moved south to Kenai to lead Agrium’s ammonia/urea complex.

Interesting times, I was leading the fuel assets that supplied Elmendorf AFB, Eilson AFB, and the anchorage and Fairbanks airports when the 911 attack occurred.
 
Great thread topic...

The older I get the more I value "the little things" and the more attention I pay to the details.. I dont worry as much about what I might be missing or not experiencing so much as now I focus on getting the most out of whatever experiences are afforded me..

I saw a great video clip back in November that made me reassess how I have looked at life for most of the time I have been on the planet.. The guy in the clip spoke to having an "attitude of gratitude" and got into some pretty good detail about how humans tend to think about all of the things we dont have, or havent accomplished, etc.. and that we are never satisfied as a result of it.. that simply reflecting on being grateful for what we do have, and for what we have been allowed to experience and accomplish, etc.. can be life changing, bring more happiness, etc.. He then transitioned into talking about the way we talk or address things like "I have to take my daughter to school" and how that we negatively program ourselves when we do that.. whether that is a pleasant task or not, stating "have to" makes the action a burdon in our minds.. he advocated replacing "have to" with "get to".. his point was that its a blessing to have a child.. its a greater blessing to have access to education for that child.. its an even greater blessing that you have a vehicle and the ability to take the child somewhere they need to be... a large part of the planets population dont have those blessings.. so be grateful and program your mind to let you experience the happiness that comes from gratefulness as opposed to the burdoning that comes from "having" to do someting... He took it further with an example of someone saying "I have to go to work today"... no matter how miserable a task might be at work, isnt it great to actually have a job when so many people dont? to have the opportunity to do something productive with your day? etc.. How many of us actually have jobs or careers that we do like and enjoy, but still refer to them in a negative or neutral context by saying "I have to" conduct task X.. or "I have to" get to the office by 8.. etc..

He summed up with the fact that death is one of the few things we are all guaranteed in life.. and that none of us knows when death will come to us.. We need to spend more time appreciating what life has provided and being grateful for what we have done, can do, and continue to experience and be happier people.. as opposed to worrying about how we're going to get a bigger house, a faster car, etc.. Happiness is in and of itself a form of success.. and we shouldnt sacrifice it to obtain other forms of success...
@mdwest
Mate I'm just greatfull to be able to get out of bed each day and still be able to put one foot in front of the other.
My brother always brags about how much he has but the more you have the more you have to lose and the more time you spend protecting it..

The best thing about my trip to Namibia with my wife and son was meeting the local kids at a school with nothing. Even tho these kid were dirt poor and had stuff all they were happy.
It made my 15 year old son who has never wanted for anything reassess life. He learnt a valuable life lesson that day.
You don't need a lot to be happy but be happy with the little you have.
It is the best gift he has ever been given. A LESSON IN LIFE FOR ALL PEOPLE.
Bob
 

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