Last year, I made a deliberate decision to slow down.  Not so much to do less, but to do more simply.  Part of it was an unhappiness with my life, but also an unhappiness with the way I was living my life.  Too much stress.  Too much seriousness.  And too much giving, to the point where I was neglecting myself.  You have to take care of yourself, pamper yourself even, if you're going to thrive while still giving of yourself to others.

You can judge for yourself when I went all introspective, because that's about the time when Rocket Jones slowed down.

One of my resolutions was to write more often.  As in "write", as in pen and paper.  My mother was a horrible letter writer, it was easier to pick up the phone.  I take after her, to the point that even firing off an email seems a chore sometimes.

So I've taken to writing again.  Real letters, on fine paper, using honest to goodness fountain pens.  I have a nice little collection of pens and ink started, nothing very expensive, all what are considered "budget" pens.  I may write about them in the future, mini-reviews if you will, or I might never get around to it.  I don't know.

But, if anyone would like an old-fashioned pen pal, or someone to exchange an occasional snail mail with, well, drop me an email (hey, I'm not a fanatic).  You know the address:  RocketJones *at* gmail *dot* yourpants *dot* com.  Remove your pants before sending, you know the drill.  Yes, that amuses me.

So, what good has the more relaxed pace done?  Well, for the fourth straight year I've lost weight.  Not a great deal in any one year, but the downward trend has continued and that makes me happy.  Last year my doctor put me on a minimum dosage of a mild blood pressure medicine (I was at the high end of the normal range).  During my last visit, my blood pressure was back down to where it should be, and there's talk that if I can keep dropping the pounds and keep up with the stress reduction, then I can quit taking the medicine altogether.  Worthwhile goal, methinks.

More reading, less web surfing.  More organization, less clutter.  That sort of thing.

Seriously though, about the pen pals.

Posted by: Ted at 12:35 AM | category: Lifetoys
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