In this recent blog post, I wrote that I am committed to volunteering more in 2023!My journey along those lines begins this afternoon, actually, as I go through orientation at the Bellingham Senior Center so I can deliver Meals on Wheels later this month.

I've committed to three Thursdays in a row, delivering meals to 21 households in downtown Bellingham, Fairhaven and Happy Valley.

At least one volunteer outing per month, that's my minimum commitment -- and I'll keep you updated on what unfolds and how it all goes!

ALSO... I have a proposal on how we can collaborate and raise some money to donate in 2023!It's SO simple!

I am going to share a review or make a recommendation to a book, a tool, an item, something I've gotten and you can get on Amazon.com.

When you click any of the items' links in the blog post, if you make a purchase of that item or anything during that visit to Amazon, a tiny little commission goes into the pot.

It will start off small, of course, but over the course of time if we commit to it, we can put some real dollars together.

When we have a meaningful amount, we'll donate 100% of it to a local person, family, or group in need.

Is it a deal?

AWESOME! Let's start right now!

I'm a survival story fanatic!

If we’ve talked about books at all, you know that my favorite genre is survival stories.

Since I was a kid I’ve been enthralled with to tales of sailing misadventures, far flung mountaineering epics, and explorations gone wrong.

IF you like this category too, you will LOVE any of these absolute chart-toppers in the survival space:

Mawson's Will

Douglas Mawson was an Aussie adventurer who set out in 1911 to map 1500 miles of Antarctica's coastline.

When he and his two companions were 320 miles out, one of the men fell into a crevasse with the tent, most of their gear, and all but 1 week's worth of food.

What followed could cause you severe hypothermia just reading about it!

It has gone down in history as one of the greatest polar survival stories ever recorded.

Here's the magic link to the book on Amazon.

Skeletons on the Zahara

So many survival stories result from people putting themselves intentionally in a dangerous landscape, and then battling the elements to make it out alive.

Then there are those stories where the extreme elements are but one antagonist, and perhaps not the worst of them.

In Skeletons on the Zahara, a crew of American sailors finds themselves shipwrecked on the remote west coast of Africa, captured by desert nomads, enslaved, and on a months-long death march.

When I picked up this book I had just finished reading Mawson's Will, but I remember the "cringe factor" reaching a new level in 'Skeletons'.

Here is the magic link to buy the book on Amazon.

Endurance

No survival reading list would be complete with the story of Ernest Shackleton's South-Pole-quest-that-never-was, named after his wooden ship, the Endurance.

Sailing for the shore of Antarctica to begin a foot-voyage to the South Pole, the Endurance became locked in the ice just 30 miles short of the intended anchorage.

Trapped, unable to sail, the ship provided refuge as it sat entombed while the entire ice sheet drifted additional 800 miles.

Eventually, the structural integrity of the ship gave out, the men took to the ice on foot dragging the Endurance's 3 lifeboats, and they watched as the Endurance sank to the bottom of the Weddell Sea, nearly 2 miles deep.

The story that follows details the 2+ years the men focused on their survival under Shackleton's leadership, culminating in his lifeboat voyage of 850 miles through the roughest ocean on the planet to find help for the crew's eventual rescue.

If you read only one survival book in your lifetime, Endurance should be the one.

Here is the magic link to buy Endurance.

Being intentional

Taking an extra moment to click a link that will result in a donation to a local person or group in need...This takes thoughtful intention.

And yet it is there for us to lean into ever so slightly, adding the tiniest bit of complexity or an "extra step or two" to our normal routines......and goodness can come from them.

I'm not calling you out; I'm sharing what I myself am working on more and more.

I want to lean in a bit more to the relationships, the actions, the projects that best define and enhance this magical journey we call life.

If you share that sentiment, then here's to your efforts on that front, and please know that you have my sincere gratitude and respect in doing so!