Alexandersmap

    Tag: Anton Chekhov

    • Kicking Life Down the Curb

      “Any idiot can face a crisis; it’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.” ― Anton Chekhov

      The leaves are falling down pretty quickly now. I type this knowing the truth of that statement: I’ll soon need to clean the pool one last time before putting the cover on and shutting it down until April. Having a pool at all is a luxury in this mad world and I appreciate it for all that it offers, but understand there’s a tax that comes with owning one. The tax is time and attention that might be applied to something else. Everything has its season.

      A pool, like people, grows weary over time. Parts wear out and need to be repaired or replaced. There’s a cost to this and one wonders how long to keep going with it before you just stop using it altogether. It would make a lovely frog pond, as the frequent visitors attest before I scoop them out and relocate them. Yes, there’s a season for a pool in a lifetime. There’s a season for a lot of things. One day the season will end, in the meantime we kick decisions like what to do about that thing down the curb.

      Ah yes, life has its seasons. We grow into some as we grow out of others. The most healthy and vibrant wear out over time. Knowing this, we must not kick life down the curb, but embrace our potential in the here and now. The thing to kick down the curb is the relentless decline of our health and well-being through good choices today. We mustn’t defer living, but rather defer declining through better choices. Sure.

      There’s always something to face—some tax to pay for our day in the sun. And with it there’s also something to kick down the curb. We must remember to make the most of the now we’re in while still preparing for the next. For the next is coming, but the now is flying quickly past.

    • Savor the Circle

      “Do silly things. Foolishness is a great deal more vital and healthy than our straining and striving after a meaningful life.” ― Anton Chekhov, The Portable Chekhov

      I hit the 20 mile mark yesterday in combined mileage between cycling and walking. This may not seem all that impressive, but it was a busy and hot day and that milestone was very much in doubt for much of the day. I finished just after 10 PM, when I’m usually in bed reading. To celebrate I took a late night solo swim—just me and the stars and satellites in a dark pool of water on the edge of the woods. And I felt completely alive and present floating there.

      The older I get the less I seek meaning in everything I do. I’m simply enjoying it all. Washing dishes never felt so fulfilling. Dead-heading the flowers is meditative. Cleaning up after the pets? Not so delightful, but not something I avoid or resent as I’m doing it. It’s just part of the deal. Life is a series of chores and commitments we make to each other before we carve out a bit of time for ourselves to savor the circle we’ve surrounded ourselves with.

      The scale is telling me that I’m roughly the same character I was a month ago, but what does a scale know? I’m more fit, more active, seeing more and feeling the momentum of consistency. We know when we’re fully alive and when we’re fooling ourselves. Activity pays dividends beyond numbers on a scale.

      These are days we’ll remember. At least they will be if we place ourselves squarely in the moment and fill each with things that make us feel vital and healthy. As we move into the height of summer, what will we take from this time? The satisfying snip of a spent bloom? The smell of tomato vines and twine? Light shining in north-facing windows that rarely catch such beams but for the longest days of the year? Or bubbles running up your back as you rise to meet the July sky? The answer is to delight in it all.