• About
    • Portrait of a gate (a simple story)

The woman on the Yellow Bicycle

~ The Art of enjoying life as I pedal my bike.

The woman on the Yellow Bicycle

Tag Archives: labels

I know nothing (looking for labels on my birthday)

Featured

Posted by stephpep56 in a slippet, Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Artist, Ikigai, labels, lagom, nursing, TED talks, writer

20180528_070942

Three days ago I reached my sixty second birthday.

I am over half a century old.

And what have I learnt?

Mostly that I know nothing and that the older I get, the less I know.

It isn’t that I am developing dementia. Just that I am throwing out all my old knowledge and notions and making room for new ones.

I came to TED talks  late in life. (https://www.ted.com/talks)

and am so excited by them.

You see I have discovered hundreds of talks on all aspects of things, which I can listen to and learn from (or disagree with) at the press of a button.

It was from one of these talks that I learnt about ‘Ikigai’. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai

I became aware that I have being living my Ikigai all along.

I just never gave it a label.

In fact I had been living it for over for forty years.

But things are changing and small discontents are creeping in.

I love my job as a nurse. (A job I get paid to do) but I am also a writer and an artist, for which I don’t. (Any one want to buy a ‘hen’ painting?)

And these latter attributions are beginning to cause me anxiety when I’m at my paid job.

Let me explain.

Because of the above mentioned, I see, in each hospital bed, not just an ill person but a portrait, a story.

And so, although my manager thinks I am just uselessly chatting to my patient and in doing so am wasting valuable task time, I see it differently.

But recently times have changed, staff shortages have occurred due to cutbacks.

And now even if I seal my lips tightly I have hardly enough time to carry out those regular tasks, much less the ones I deem also important.

Luckily, so far I still don’t dread going into work.

And each time I go I do so with an optimistic anticipation of a good day ahead.

and I haven’t been fired for talking too much.

So my Ikigai is still at work.

But maybe as will I retire in three years I need to look for it elsewhere?

What could I do instead that I love?

that I am good at.

that the world needs.

that I can earn a living from.

It needn’t be something too immense.

I don’t need too much or two little to survive, but just the right amount.

and on that note I believe that in Sweden they have a special word for the above!

Now if you’ll excuse me I am just going to see if there is a TED talk on ‘Lagom’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagom

20131223_055556

Anyone want to by a hen painting?

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Vergings of a half hearted procrastinator.

05 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by stephpep56 in a slippet

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

appartment living, bicycle, labels, learning, philosophy, procrastination, words

foraging 923foraging 932

THE PATH TO THE RIGHT WILL BRING ME TO THE SEA.

Procrastination; To postpone until tomorrow. To defer until a later date.

I should have paid more attention to english vocabulary when I was at school.

Since I started writing this blog I am coming across many interesting words that I am familiar with but not quite sure or can’t remember the meaning of.

Not a thing I am proud to admit to.

But It’s exciting! I see learning as a lifelong passion and am glad that I don’t know everything and still have lots to learn (the meaning of the word ‘Callipygian‘ for example or ‘doryphore’ or  ‘decubitus’ or ‘edacious’ or ‘ensorcell’ or even ‘absquatulate’)

I am proof of the idea that school at a young age is a bit of a waste, that we should be off adventuring and exploring when young and have the physical energy for it and do our learning later when our bodies have calmed down.

An Opsimath I suppose one could refer to me as (but that is subject matter for another essay).

One of the words I came across recently and had to look up to remind myself of its correct meaning was ‘procrastination’.

‘You don’t know the meaning of that!’ I hear you cry in disbelief.

Well I do have a vague idea, but maybe the fact that I am one is reason for my lack of interest in such a word.

Yes I am a procrastinator!

As I say these words out loud I feel a weight falling from my shoulders as when given a diagnosis.

A sort of So thats what I have/am feeling of resignation (and now that I have admitted to it, I can deal with it).

The problem of course is once you have a label you may find that even if you do manage to change, it can be hard to un-label yourself.

Or worse, you may be in danger of settling happily into your label.

Or that if you can’t teach an old dog new tricks (as the saying goes) How do you expect to teach a chronic procrastinator, who didn’t (until just recently) even realise she was one, new ways?

Am I being too hard on myself?

I thought I was just laid back/easygoing/verging on lazy.

Maybe I’m just a half hearted one

Is it possible to be a particular procrastinator, procrastinating only about certain things. Paying bills for example.

On a scale of one to ten which way do I lean?

I will go away now and ponder this and defer my judgement until later.

~~~

When I come back to my laptop I have decided not to procrastinate any longer but to settle down and get on with the writing of this piece.

But!

Its such a beautiful day and what I would really like to do is head off somewhere on my bicycle.

I debate about this for about ten minutes until the bicycle wins.

Now procrastinators should never live in apartments. It is much too difficult to get easily to the outside.

And mine being on the third floor is enough to turn a motivated person into a procrastinator.

But I make a start by taking my bike out through the living room door.

Having got that far I decide to keep going and go through my main door.

Then along a corridor and into a lift, where, lifting my bike up on its back wheel and letting its front wheel climb the lift wall, I can just about manage to fit us both in.

On arriving at the ground floor I untangle myself from where I have got my head caught between the handlebars and saddle and I wheel my bicycle down the reception area.

This is a very pleasant space with some large potted plants that have a notice stuck to each pot ‘Please do not water me‘!

As if!

Procrastinators rarely get around to watering their own plants let alone anyone else’s .

Though we do think about it.

No! the potted plants need not fear me drowning them!

Which brings to mind other people worse than us procrastors. People who are always on the ball, jumping at opportunities, whizzing round, motivated, interfering, controlling, not trusting others to take care of things. Over watering house plants!!

pfffft I am glad I am not like THAT.

I go through another door and one final one and at last I am outside.

By this time I am exhausted and I sit down on the bench outside the door.

Maybe I should call off my cycle and go back and have a cup of tea and finish writing my piece.

But the thought of the of getting back into my appartment with my bicycle is not really appealing either.

I sit and consider my options for five minutes.

The bicycle wins again.

But which way?

To the right the going is flat and will take me to the sea (should I go back and get my swimming suit).

To the left it is uphill and takes me to the mountains (should I go back and get some water in case I get thirsty).

Sitting on the warm bench I turn my face to the sun and mull it over.

I’ll go to the right I decide!

In a while………

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...
stephpep56

stephpep56

Writer, storyteller, Artist, photographer, mother and grandmother, with a passion for living in the moment, for nature and gardening and meditatively pedalling my yellow bicycle which helps inspire my stories and observations of life. And what better place to be from and to live and cycle in then Ireland. A country filled to the brim with songs and stories, small boreens, lakes, mountains and wild seas. In between all the above I just about manage to squeeze in my real job as a nurse in a busy Hospital.

Personal Links

  • The muddled hen.
  • The woman on the Yellow Bicycle

View Full Profile →

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 572 other followers

Recent Posts

  • Wanted: Small caravan with room for a bicycle (Rescuing Baba, the final leg)
  • Wanted small caravan with room for a bicycle.(What now Baba?)
  • Wanted: Small caravan with room for a bicycle (It’s too darn late.)
  • Wanted: Small caravan with room for a bicycle. (Part three).
  • WANTED: Small caravan with room for a bicycle (Part 2)

Archives

  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
taking the long way home 2014-05-14 042
mass paths 042
foraging 2064
may day 050
foraging 1964
2010_0106inisbofin20100030
in search of smock alley 026A
daffodil time 003
1044
IMG_20130714_171058
dublin oct 2013 040
taking the long way home 2014-05-14 033
daffodil time 027
cropped-summer-2013-0211.jpg
DSCF6919
DSCF5963
trip to the garden center 072
2010_0106inisbofin20100001
20131015_114719
a gift of a day 2014-07-27 018
060
summer 2013 205
tree's and such 095
tree's and such 126
DSCF6005

Pages

  • About
    • Portrait of a gate (a simple story)

Tags

Achill artists barefoot beaches bicycle bicycles bicycling boats brittany campers camping. cancer caravans childhood childhood memories children churches coffee connemara cottage cottages cycling daughters Divorce dogs dreams Dublin faeries families family fishing flowers food france friends gardening goats grandchildren hens holy wells Ile de Batz Interferon Ireland Islands lakes love marriage meditation melanoma. memories mountains painting parents philosophy pumpkins sea stones stories summer the burren the sea the west of ireland The wild atlantic way theyellowbicycle the yellow bicycle the yellowbicycle the yellow bike trains vegetables walking west of Ireland wild camping wildcamping wine writing

Blogs I Follow

copyright

Stephanie Peppard an and Thewomanontheyellowbicycle and the inquisitive hen 2014/2015.
This Written material, drawings, photographs and paintings are all my own original work. I would kindly ask that you do not use any of the above without my permission. Excerpts and links may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to Stephanie peppard and thewomanontheyellowbicycle and the inquisitive hen with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. thanks Steph.

Blogs I Follow

  • nickreeves
  • Drawn In
  • The Sketchbook
  • Crank and Cog
  • Yvonnecullen's Blog
  • a french garden
  • tinlizzieridesagain
  • Donna Cooney
  • MERRY HAPPY
  • Louisa May Alcott is My Passion
  • acoffeestainedlife.wordpress.com/
  • wildsherkin
  • The clueless photographer
  • Frog Pond Farm
  • Site Title
  • Persevere
  • ALYAZYA
  • Singersong Blog
  • An Oldie Outdoors
  • Dartmoor Wild Camper

Blog at WordPress.com.

nickreeves

≈ fictionalpaper / piccoloscissors / creativeglue ≈

Drawn In

Art • Nature • Exploration

The Sketchbook

MOSTLY MONTREAL, MOST OF THE TIME

Crank and Cog

Wanderers on two wheels!

Yvonnecullen's Blog

Just another WordPress.com site

a french garden

Reflections on nature in a garden in France

tinlizzieridesagain

Adventures in Bikeable Fashion

Donna Cooney

Beauty is a form of Genius

MERRY HAPPY

Louisa May Alcott is My Passion

Begun in 2010, this blog offers analysis and reflection by Susan Bailey on the life, works and legacy of Louisa May Alcott and her family. Susan is an active member and supporter of the Louisa May Alcott Society, the Fruitlands Museum and Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House.

acoffeestainedlife.wordpress.com/

From a less than perfect life.. but I keep trying.

wildsherkin

Once upon an island...the musings and makings of a part-time islander

The clueless photographer

Pietro Mascolo - IZ4VVE

Frog Pond Farm

Julie's garden ramblings ...

Site Title

Persevere

By Dan Sims

ALYAZYA

A little something for you.

Singersong Blog

An Aussie in County Clare

An Oldie Outdoors

Trail Blogs : Gear : Outdoor Life

Dartmoor Wild Camper

My wild camping adventures on Dartmoor.

Alex Awakens

The musings of an awakening soul

Fernwood Nursery & Gardens

Maine's Shadiest Nursery

avikingjourney

A nordic journey from the past to the present with Denmark's largest Viking war ship, the Sea Stallion.

JustUs Society

After all, who else is there... well except for aliens

aoifewww's Blog

This WordPress.com site is the bee's knees

idleramblings

Poems, ditties, lines, words, wanderings, ramblings, thoughts, memories, prompts,

140 characters is usually enough

naturekids

A place for kids to learn about the natural world

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is the best place for your personal blog or business site.

The woman on the Yellow Bicycle

The Art of enjoying life as I pedal my bike.

Off The Beaten Path

Random Peckings and Droppings of a Free-Range Chicken Mind.

The Campervan Gang

A Family's Journey To Become Campervan Heroes

ronovanwrites

Author, Poet, Blogger, Father, Reader And More

Murtagh's Meadow

Ramblings of an Irish ecologist and gardener

HAPPY DAYS

Steps To Happiness.

Beside the Hedgerow

About Bette

Myths and Memoirs

owen.swain.artist/blog

spaceship china

~ a blog that travels through time and space through the complex narrative we call “China” ~

ACORN PONDS GLAMPING SITE : Shropshire

Glamping at its best!! private, own kitchen, own shower and loo, peaceful, wildlife, no kids!!

nickreeves

≈ fictionalpaper / piccoloscissors / creativeglue ≈

Drawn In

Art • Nature • Exploration

The Sketchbook

MOSTLY MONTREAL, MOST OF THE TIME

Crank and Cog

Wanderers on two wheels!

Yvonnecullen's Blog

Just another WordPress.com site

a french garden

Reflections on nature in a garden in France

tinlizzieridesagain

Adventures in Bikeable Fashion

Donna Cooney

Beauty is a form of Genius

MERRY HAPPY

Louisa May Alcott is My Passion

Begun in 2010, this blog offers analysis and reflection by Susan Bailey on the life, works and legacy of Louisa May Alcott and her family. Susan is an active member and supporter of the Louisa May Alcott Society, the Fruitlands Museum and Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House.

acoffeestainedlife.wordpress.com/

From a less than perfect life.. but I keep trying.

wildsherkin

Once upon an island...the musings and makings of a part-time islander

The clueless photographer

Pietro Mascolo - IZ4VVE

Frog Pond Farm

Julie's garden ramblings ...

Site Title

Persevere

By Dan Sims

ALYAZYA

A little something for you.

Singersong Blog

An Aussie in County Clare

An Oldie Outdoors

Trail Blogs : Gear : Outdoor Life

Dartmoor Wild Camper

My wild camping adventures on Dartmoor.

Cancel
%d bloggers like this: