ANOTHER DECADE

Seven Decades: A Learning Memoir was published in 2013.  It was a record of several watershed learning experiences in each of 7 decades that shaped and influenced me over those years. What follows here is a brief summary of the past decade in a similar way and raising up a few experiences and what I learned.

1. Living and learning in different places. Sold “The River House” and barn in Abiquiu, NM which had been a labor of love for 10 years, sad to see it go and relieved not to have the continued work and expense of keeping it all going. Good years, good times.  Moved into “Big Blue” motorhome, a 47’ Newell and into Trailer Ranch in Santa Fe, NM.  Then bought a new modular, mobile home for $65K delivered to site #53 at TR.  Kept motorhome, stored it there and since it was all electric & we could not go to MX we went instead to Key West in the winter    Learned I could work from anywhere even if it involved the need to travel on occasion.

2017 – Lake Copperopolis, CA,  on Lake Tulloch for 2 years, back to NM for a year and then to Tubac, AZ (2020) and now, 2023, in Mexico.   In 2019 – In NM that year, rented a casita in Quail Run. 2020 –  Moved to Tubac, AZ, at the beginning of the Pandemic, bought a small house plus a 25’ motorhome for travel and most recently established residence in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Learned that we prefer being mobile and that people and communities influence the quality of life anywhere one lands.   Reinforced learning via continuing experiences.

2 – Increased impact of Social Media – benefits and burdens.  So many platforms, so little time.   The creation of virtual, global communities and the advent of Zoom with 900 million visitors in one month, illustrate the reach and influence of social media in our personal and professional lives.  Facebook/Meta, YouTube and WhatsApp are in the billions and the struggling Twitter, now branded X, around 500 million users. The plus is easy communication, a minus is the anonymity and some people hiding behind their reality along with the promulgation of misinformation.

Learned I could choose to use or not, be selective and purposeful and not swallow it whole. I belong to the old school (pre-Boomer). I still rely on the telephone; yes, an iPhone, a Macbook Pro and an iPad, plus email and F2F relationships. Maintained an active web site and blog, a continuing exercise and practice, and still current.

3 –  Political environment.  We, who lost an election to an unqualified disaster, suffered through four years of his failed leadership. In my not so humble opinion, we are still suffering the fallout and damage as we await the outcomes of his ongoing indictments and continuing bad behavior of his cult followers.  The continued divisive behaviors of elected officials is inexcusable, deplorable and whatever adjective you want to use that exposes the self-interest of those who have not accomplished much of anything on the serious issues of gun control, health care, and education.  We have only to look at comparisons with other industrialized nations to see better models with better outcomes.

Learned there is still much work to be done to bring about needed change.  Feels like a return to the 1930’s and the 1960’s. I was born in 1937, remembering WWII as a child and was an adult social activist in the 60’s. Recent decade was déjà vu.

4 – Heart diagnosis and treatment  About halfway through this decade, symptoms such as shortness of breath required attention, the result of which indicated progressive heart disease.

Not a big surprise since my Dad died of a massive heart attack at age 67 and his mother, who also had heart issues, died at age 64.  I was genetically programmed but with a good diagnosis from son-in-law cardiologist and his team, the interventions which followed have extended my life beyond what we might have expected.  Specialists in heart repair in two different hospitals in OK and AZ from different cardiologists installed three mitral valve clips, first two and then a third several years later, 3 stents and then a Watchman placed into the left ventricle. I became intimately acquainted with TEE, transesophageal echocardiograms.

https://www.bostonscientific.com/en-EU/products/laac-system/watchman.html

Learned first-hand that medical technologies have come a long way in this past decade.  This coupled with my own cardiac rehab and ongoing self-care provide a quality of life that give me opportunities for travel, a high level of activities, and continuing work with a few clients.

5. Circling around to evolving life of Spirit – Inner work, reading, writing, and helping others. Sixty years ago I completed 3 years of theological studies, understanding and appreciating the teachings of people such as Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, Karl Barth and later Joseph Campbell, Matthew Fox, and M.C. Richards. There have been others too like Viktor Frankl, Carl Rogers, Martin Luther King, Jr, Thich Nat Hanh, to name a few. The point here is that I am ending where I began, exploring life through deeply held beliefs and values and choosing who to be and where to invest time, talent and energy.  And that is what I do with myself, and with others, formally and informally.

Learned that we can continue to learn, grow and change by paying close attention to mind, body and spirit.  We are stronger together when we understand that we are truly interdependent beings, that we are designed as social beings and that we can influence the world to be a better, healthier and safer place when we give ourselves in service to others.