Could Vietnam Be My Organizing Principle?

I’ve got a list – not long, but a list nonetheless – of things I think I want to do but haven’t done. And I say I think I want to do them because, having not done them, I have to assume something about one or both of those verbs is off. My job is to figure out what.

Or, my job is to figure out what will jump-start and sustain the practices I think I’d like to make my own. I’m looking for an organizing principle…

Meanwhile, later this fall I’m headed to Vietnam and environs with D. We have a unique opportunity to see the country in a way most don’t, through the eyes of a family member who has lived and worked there off and on since she was part of peace initiatives during the war. I expect it will be a very special visit.

One of the many charms of Hanoi, I hear, is early morning tai chi around Hoam Kiem Lake. Thirty years ago I was mesmerized by the hundreds of people quietly going through their exercises in the hills around Hong Kong. I came home and took classes. In times of turmoil, I can still center myself by visualizing some of the moves.  But I haven’t been a practitioner in nearly 25 years and I keep meaning to get back to it…

This spring I modeled for a painter friend and took a watercolor class of my own. Along the way, I realized if I really want to paint, I really need to learn to draw. Sketching is such a portable art form, perfect for traveling…

Last week I pulled out my bike and took a spin, embarrassingly my first ride in several years. There is some chance we might do some biking in Vietnam and I didn’t want that to be the first time I’d been back on a bike for so long…

So maybe Vietnam is my organizing principle.

Maybe Vietnam provides the impetus, the structure, the deadline, the motivation to move on my desires and goals. Maybe Vietnam is my jumper cable. I am chagrined as I wrestle with the realization that I need this external stimulus, but I can’t deny it. Maybe Vietnam is a launching pad for another potential goal: being my fittest ever at fifty-five. Maybe.

Funny, what gets us moving. Fortunate that we figure it out.

Today, as part of Blogging101 and Writing101, I visited some new fellow bloggers. I am indebted to Nathan DeRuwe, Sam at Fit is a Feminist Issue, Glen Alton Messer for posts that helped bring my thinking into focus. And, in Nathan’s case, whet my appetite for what I will soon see. Thanks, all!