BACKGROUND

In 2019 we moved to Vienna from our home in Ontario, Canada. We had both quit our jobs because we recognized that they were extracting too much out of us. We were both working long hours, most evenings, and weekends. A new, less intense job in a new city opened up the world for both of us. For me, it gave some much needed time for reflection and for art.

I had heard about journaling and wanted to see if it could be helpful for me, so I bought a green hardback notebook and a green pen, and began to write daily. The topic I was pursuing was, “What is important?” At 53 I was asking myself this question, trying to sort out where I should be spending my energy.

Each day I wrote about my thoughts and gradually some ideas began to coalesce. I found it very helpful to imagine myself at the end of life, what some people call the “death-bed test”. If there is something I have done or not done during my life, will I regret it at that point? By ruminating on the question, I eventually came to understand that there are only two issues that are truly important to me, two issues about which I could harbour regrets. I knew I had to love, support, and take care of my family, and I knew I had to spend my days being creative. Nothing else is important.