The Wise Man

I read a quote the other day; the young man lives in the future, the old man lives in the past, but the wise man lives in the present. I have to agree with this philosophically, but one can't live this way all the time. It can become rather exhausting.

My husband and I received some excellent financial advice recently. "Begin with the end in mind." Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Don't I do this every day? Well, not really ... my days are far more tactical than strategic. And I think it is no different for most people just making it through each day, one small crisis or victory at a time. But we were challenged with coming up with a clear picture of what we would like the rest of life to look like. What are our mutual goals? What is achievable, and what are we willing to do or sacfrifice to achieve them?

So we went to the archives, my old copies of Cottage Living (may they RIP) to clarify our thoughts. My husband was looking at garden plans while I was pricing out kitchen renovations. (Or getting distracted by food photography.) While these approaches seem to conflict, they all fit into the grand scheme of things.

Now, to begin at the end ...