[2021-09-21] Live first, write second
As committed as I am to documenting my cancer journey, my priority is to live first and write second. Helping the kids, cooking for my family, playing Jeopardy with Chris—all these activities take precedence over the writing of my daily blog posts.
While living and writing are not mutually exclusive—indeed, the mundane details of life often make their way into my articles—I've decided that, at this stage in my life, living must come first. I don't want to be like the parent who watches their child's performance at a school play through a camera lens, or the social media influencer who organizes their activities expressly to serve as fodder for their blogs.
I used to begin writing my posts after lunch, but found that doing so interrupted my day, leaving me limited time to pursue interests of importance to me. By shifting my writing to the evening, I opened up possibilities for going to museums, seeing loved ones, or contributing to the home. Today, for example, I spent several hours in the kitchen making homemade salsa.
This approach is similar to a philosophy I heard years ago in relation to saving money. The advice was to "pay yourself first." In other words, make your savings the first place you put money. If you spend your money with the intention of saving what's left, there often isn't anything remaining.
By the same token, if I spend all my time writing, there may be little time left for living.
Granted, if I were trying to earn a living by writing, I might have to reverse the approach: write first, live second. (I've always had a tendency of prioritizing work over life.) But in retirement, I have the luxury of pursuing projects for pleasure, not pay.
In addition to live first, I've adopted other "firsts": walk first, family first, good food first.
Writing remains important to me. In fact, it would probably feel odd—after 400+ posts—to not write something each day.
Perhaps my philosophy would best be described as live first, write second, relax third. My best days are ones in which I've lived well and written an inspiring post. These two activities are the best prelude to relaxation.
