Don't say, "I can't wait." It's OK to be excited for something but not to wish away all the moments between then and now. Each one is precious.
I picked that up a few years ago from a Buddhist book. It helped me with so many aspects of life.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It's good to hear there wasn't a lot going on because, honestly, coming here from Reddit feels a bit like participating in some sort of digital gentrification.
You're right. The fediverse is definitely in a better position to ward off the suck.
By now, we've all been around the internet long enough to know that good things never last. That's really life: Everything's impermanent. Lemmy will probably suck someday, as will much of the fediverse. But I'm grateful it's good right now and for the foreseeable future.
It's a beautiful day to be mindful, present, and grateful. IWNDWYT.
That sounds like an excellent day! Enjoy! IWNDWYT.
I also intensified existing hobbies.
Hiking went from a vacation or quarterly activity to several times per week. (Less now because of fatherhood.)
I returned to music and really doubled down on reading.
I picked up a couple of new hobbies: kayaking and spin bike.
And I started a business that's been doing well for a few years and became a dad.
None of it would have happened without sobriety.
Damn. You described it so well.
Fridays in autumn, right at the time the setting sun is lighting up the night sky, is such a trigger for me. This time of year, it's more like Fridays around 3, when the sun is shining and the trees are super green and robust. Idk -- there's something about the time and scenery associated with the pre-drinking routine that's difficult.
But I'm starting to feel really settled into sobriety. It only took six years of stumbling!
Wrote some songs with my sober friends yesterday afternoon and evening. Then came home and hung out with my wife while our baby slept peacefully upstairs.
That's a way better Friday than I ever had in the drinking days.
The view from a summit in Roosevelt National Forest
Did a couple of days of hiking with my buddy last month. As a flatlander, I was so grateful for the chance to spend some time in the Rockies.
Agreed. Sometimes fiction reflects reality very well, in its own unique way. I used to be a journalist, and I recall some of my colleagues wondering whether they could do more good by moving to fiction and taking on larger issues in that medium.
Middle of Nowhere, New Jersey: A burnt section of Wharton State Forest in the Pine Barrens
Did an overnight trip in April, camping at what the state considers a wilderness site on the tea-colored Batsto River.
The New Jersey Pine Barrens is the largest wilderness on the East Coast between Boston and D.C. It's a unique environment, with a lot of cool ecosystems. No virgin forest here, as industry had its way with the land and resources for centuries.
This trip was something like 20 miles through Atlantic white cedar swamps and pitch pine forests.
It might not dazzle like the west at first glance, but it's a place I love more than most.
Fiction or nonfiction? Why?
I appreciate fiction, but I almost always read nonfiction. It's probably because I typically choose the books on topics I'm interested in and want to learn about. But I also love the way a great nonfiction writer can weave a narrative so strong that it's just as much literature as it is journalism.
Some of my favorite examples of nonfiction that do this well: Soul Full of Coal Dust, Toms River, Desert Solitaire (Abbey can be problematic, though, so be warned), The Pine Barrens, This Land, and on and on.
I guess I'm kinda stuck in the environment/nature section these days!
A few hours on a tidal river and through a pond in Jersey last week
I didn't post much on Reddit over the last few years, but I figure I ought to contribute to the communities I want to see thrive. My friend and I took our kayaks out last week and saw a bunch of beautiful sights, including egrets and great blue herons. Here's a landscape shot.