Dockam and Kaliber have been posting on their efforts to seize and savor life. Upon receiving my diagnosis I determined to try and make the best of my situation, and to revel in what life I had left. Towards that end I engaged even more with family and friends, bought a travel trailer and hit the road, and participated in everything I felt able to do, even things that I previously would have opted out of.
Since then I have hiked up and down the Oregon and SW Washington coasts, hiked along the Deschutes river, zip lined, white water tubed, danced, sang karaoke, attended art exhibits, mini biked, bicycled, played bball, beer pong and tons of video games, and so on. I experienced significant QOL boosts from these choices.
However, I have also found that smaller scale choices also enhance my QOL. Shortly afterward hearing the C word, I ran across a reference to The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. The article I read suggested looking for delights throughout the day, and consciously attending to whatever it was that brought delight. I began looking for delights on my daily walks, and snapping pics to help remind me of the delights I experienced. I now have a photo album on my computer of these delights. Below and in the reply below are just a few examples:
“I also learned this year that my delight grows—much like love and joy—when I share it.”
“I came up with a handful of rules: write a delight every day for a year; begin and end on my birthday, August 1; draft them quickly; and write them by hand. The rules made it a discipline for me. A practice. Spend time thinking and writing about delight every day.”
― Ross Gay, The Book of Delights: Essays
Colorado QoL
QoL and watercolour painting
