Memoir

/ˈmemˌwär/ noun. a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation. Usually memoirs. an account of one's personal life and experiences; autobiography. the published record of the proceedings of a group or organization, as of a learned society.

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Week 30 is almost upon us! Throughout our youth we plot, we plan, we work, we rest, and then we get up and do it again, and again, and again as the years keep slipping away. My life up until age forty-seven was a good reminder that there’s a price to be paid for everything in life, especially when it comes to achieving our goals and the things we long for. It’s so important to live consciously and continually ask ourselves if the price that must be paid is worth it. Different people have different answers and I can’t wait to read yours!

Memoir Monday has grown so much that I won’t be able to comment on everyone’s posts anymore (and get my own work done) but I’ll still be supporting your posts with reblogs, votes, and shares on my other social media accounts (X, Facebook, etc.).

For all of those who’ve regularly participated in Memoir Monday - keep going, you’re making great progress in chronicling your very own life story for future generations to enjoy.

For those who missed the inaugural post explaining what the Memoir Monday initiative is all about you can find it here.

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Now for next week’s Memoir Monday prompt:

How do you plan to spend the next decade of your life?

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My answer:

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I turned fifty-three this year and it feels like the clock is ticking more quickly each year. As a result, priorities in life and bucket list items are beginning to feel a tad more “urgent” than they once did.

During the ages of eighteen and forty-seven so much of life consisted of working, saving, learning, and planning. I feel like I burned the candle at both ends and in the middle. I was hyper-focused on setting and achieving professional and financial goals and that forced me to concentrate too much of my attention on the future and not nearly enough on the present. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed my youth and the family and friends that surrounded me but probably not as much as I could have. As I sit here writing this I have no idea how I published so many books, articles, and poetry while working a full time job and all of the other responsibilities life inevitably put in my path. Setting these kinds of lofty goals requires a certain level of selfishness that come with a price.

What’s become apparent since I started working for myself in 2017 and is how much life a full-time job robs you of. A job demands so much more of you than just the hours you’re on the clock. Between chores, commuting, errands, work, stress, and sleep there isn’t a whole lot of quality time left. This kind of life forces you to perpetually look forward to weekends, days off, or vacations which also takes your attention away from the present moment. It makes so much of your life a blur.

Sometimes, I just can’t help but ask myself - Was I really the best spouse, friend, uncle, brother, and son that I could have been?

My nephew Kayo and I clowning around on one of my trips back home in the 1990s.

Family time.

My wife and I celebrating a special milestone.

Having fun with friends.

The next decade of my life will be all about being a more complete version of myself, it will be about enjoyment and evolution — slowing down, being more present, deepening my connections with friends and relatives, traveling, and evolving in general, continuing my meditation practice.

The pandemic of 2020 and the waves of health struggles people are experiencing in the years since then have made it glaringly apparent that life is fragile, precious, and incredibly unpredictable. These past four years have made me want to just strip away all the bullshit (the toxic people, the false friends, and things in life that don’t bring me absolute joy) and learn to just make the most of each moment.

My wife and I did a fair amount of global traveling between 2017 and 2020 and my plan is to resume this as soon as possible. Realistically, I know that my stamina and maybe even my desire to travel might change as I approach my mid-60’s. I want to see as much of the world as I can during this next decade while I have the energy, desire, and am fit enough to have these incredible adventures.

My plan is to continue to stay as active, both mentally and physically, as possible during this next decade. I also want to keep learning, reading, trying new hobbies, surrounding myself with kind, smart, and interesting people, and polishing my writing even if I never publish again. I think it’s imperative to stay curious as we get older or else we become stuck in a routine, prematurely brittle, and physically and intellectually stagnant.

The thing that has surprised me most about these last seven years of early retirement is how lonely it can be. What I didn’t count on was the fact that everyone else my age is still working. Because of this friends and relatives aren’t as free to hang out and go on trips. Hopefully this changes in the coming decade as many of these people reach retirement age themselves.

In these next ten years I just plan on making the most of each day and I want to try to be as true to myself and those closest to me as I possibly can be. The present moment is where both the lessons of life and the joy of life live and I don’t want to miss out on the profound experience of this any longer.

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Rules of Engagement

1. Please reblog this first post and share on other social platforms so we cast the widest net possible for this initiative;
2. Pictures paint a thousand words. Include pictures in your posts if you have them;
3. Answer each Memoir Monday prompt question in your own post. If possible, the prompt question will be published in the week prior so you'll have the entire week to answer and publish your own post;
4. Have fun with it, don't worry about getting behind, or jumping into the project at any point after we've begun; and
5. Lastly, be sure to include the tag #memoirmonday.

It's that simple.

At the end of the next twelve months we'll have created something immensely valuable together. It's so important to know our "whys" in life and there's no better way to do that than this.

Someday all that will be left of our existence are memories of us, our deeds, and words. It's up to you to leave as rich of a heritage as possible for future generations to learn from. So, go ahead, tell your stories. I can't wait to read them.

Be well and make the most of this day. I want to sincerely thank all of the participants thus far. I've really enjoyed reading your posts!

~Eric Vance Walton~

(All photos are original.)

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