Pogue,

I’m feeling sad as I write. Really sad. I woke this morning to an untimely message. The first time I read it I have to admit, I had no context for it so I really didn’t grasp it. I read it twice more and then sat to absorb the sudden death of our last neighbour and friend. That fit, good fun guy who was always glad to lend a hand.

Isn’t it strange that when you’re not expecting something, have no preparedness for it, it just doesn’t seem to fit in. All our coping mechanisms have to be realigned in order that we can make sense. And part of that realignment seems to be a rerun of memories and experiences. But I’ve now processed the news and just feel…sad., maybe a little lost.

It also is a less than gentle reminder of the frailty of life and how we really do hang by a thin line. Even the fittest, the most robust of us has no more chance of longevity than the guy who never exercises and eats things you and I wouldn’t put on our plates. Yes, there are things that we do to avoid the obvious health risks. There’s a prescribed lifestyle for good living. But then an unforeseen factor comes into play and…BANG…didn’t see that coming. You know, totally side-swiped.

So what now. Well, once again I find myself on notice about the precariousness of life. The illusion we generate that we have time. Maybe we do. Maybe we have lots, but can we be sure? I, like the next person, am beyond good at putting things in the diary for next month, next year, whenever. I’m thinking I ought to take stock of the things that are really important to me and decide when and if I’ll get them done. Let’s get some focus here.

For a while now time has been of more importance to me than money. Not that I feel I’m short on one or have an excess of the other. No, it’s all about ‘is it worth me giving up 3 hours of travel time to save £20’? In my mind, No! We are preoccupied by wealth but negligent with our use of time. Think, you can always get more of one, you can never get more of the other. Time well used will render you a richer woman than hours worked, I promise.

Maybe this week you could consider the price of your time as you go about tasks and see if you have spent well.

Yours, just sitting and looking at the sea,

Wic.