Finding Designs in the Everyday: Living Alone in the Later Years

I've come up with an admittedly casual list that I thought I'd pass along to those of us who are older, whose lives are probably quite different than they were some years ago.  So what are the rest of us experiencing?  Or how do we keep our lives fresh as some of our old ways go-the-way?  As our family structure shifts, our jobs come to an end, our bodies change ... but, also, as our spirit and wisdom continue to grow?

Of course, each of us has talents and fingers in different pies whether we collect recipes, meditate, re-stack library books, make jewelry, act as justice of the peace, serve on a board, do our member hours in a coop, host sister-city visitors, or research a book on crony vs. free-market capitalism.  Each of our lists will obviously be different, but here's one I came up with one afternoon.

The design the shadow of my apple tree makes in the snow

* Keep a good degree of silence.  It helps equalize things around you and also lets you listen to what's inside you.
* Do something creative regularly whether piano, art, writing, clay, cello ...
* Open your door each morning and say hello to the grass/snow, trees, sky.  To the day itself.
* Get a good camera and find designs in the everyday, the ordinary.
* Keep a blog.  It will keep you on your toes.
* Explore a new or re-visit a favorite destination.  The seacoast, a winery, the city.
* Spread out a jigsaw puzzle to work on.  Treat it like a meditation.
* Get in your car and explore back roads.
* Find a good route to walk regularly.
* Tend something that's growing--a whole garden, an indoor plant.
* Keep your silver polished, cupboards and closets cleaned out.  You'll feel spiffier.
* Frequent your local stores (to help support your local economy) but keep shopping to a minimum.  At this point in our lives, who needs more things!
* Read.  Re-read books you love.  Keep a books-read journal.
* Consider downsizing.  Definitely de-clutter.  How many sets of dishes, sheets, towels do you really need?
* Keep your house and car clean and in good working order.  They are a part of who you are.
* Be fussy about what you watch--TV, movies, news.
* Consider writing poetry.  As The New Yorker says, it has "a way of slowing down time."
* Put aside anything that doesn't energize you.
* Do away with expectation.  Life has its own agenda.
* Laugh.  Breathe.  Take soaking baths.
* Don't be afraid to say "no."
* Drink lots of water.
* Watch your words.  For instance, don't say, "I can't stand it" or "Give me a break."  Your body believes what you say and just might accommodate you in ways you don't want.
* Let the people who are important to you know that they're important.
* Consider this quotation by Rilke:  "Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us."
* Get more rest.  Get more exercise.
* Always keep a spare car key with you.
* And, ever-important, help someone in some way.

In seeking designs in the everyday, the commonplace, here are some I've found.

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1.  Stacked egg cartons
2.  The red handle of a shovel
3.  A little kid contraption
4.  Chinese noodles