Making a List

     I set out to make a list of things I want out of life; things I want to do.  I was quite surprised how hard this was.  While it seems simple to roll around a mental list of things you might like to have, it is actually quite difficult to come up with things you want purely for yourself.  I performed this exercise because I felt that I may not be sure of what I wanted and thus might not really be focusing on it.  You might be fairly amazed at how thought provoking this can be.  This exercise has 3 rules.

     Rule 1: No wants that require another person to do something.
     You just can not control what other people may do no matter how much you want them to.  Leave these off your list.  Examples to avoid include: "I want Jane to love me", "I want a partner in my life", "I want to make my partner happy."

     Rule 2: No wants that don't directly involve you doing something.
     Examples: "I want world peace", "I want housing costs to be cheaper", or "I want life to be easier".  Basically these are all things that you probably can not achieve directly even if you can help them along.  If you really want to achieve world peace then say something like "I want to volunteer for the UN."

     Rule 3: No negative wants or "I do not wants"
     Examples: "I don't want to be poor", "I want Bob's house to burn down", etc.  Every example I came up with could be restated with a positive want.  If you don't want to be sick, then you want to be healthy and fit.  If you don't want to be afraid anymore, then you want to live bravely.

     This is primarily a set of things you want to actively do or seek in your life.  Now we'll make a separate list for what you want in a partner, but you need to have this list of what you want in life first.  Really write these down.  There is a real significance to seeing what you want written down.  I'd love to hear what you discover about yourself in this.  No one has to share their list.
     A little bit more about why I chose to do this...  For a long time I've been watching the Universe and seeing how it prods us all along on our paths.  I began to realize that while I know the Universe will conspire to deliver our happiness when we seek it, we still get to make our own choices.  I was too caught up in seeking what I was meant to do and not really deciding what I wanted to do.  Thus the list.

Inclusion

All the religions of the world got a few things right.  All the religions of the world got a few things wrong.  All the religions of the world were created by the human race.  The human race was created as part of the Universe.  The Universe includes the human race.  The human race through religion has tended to make itself separate from the Universe.

We tend to plod along imagining that our course is separate from the rest.  We imagine that we are special to other things or that our destiny is our own while the rest of the Universe merely tries to keep up or follow along.  We forget that all things have but a single origin.  All that is, is.  The origin of the tree, the stone, the river, the Sun and all the heavens is the same origin of the human race.  All things were created together to take shape in this Universe; to form and reform; to change.

We can not be separated from it.  We can not be excluded.  We are creatures of it born as part of it.  We are fully capable beings of the Universe.  Everyone and everything has a part.  We are actors and observers.  Our purpose is different from the tree or the stone, but our role is not any more, or less, significant.  While all things are connected we are also unique and travel a different path.

Feel this connection in your life.  We are a part of everything and each other.  In this way knowing yourself is knowing everything.

The Trouble with Twitters

I've discovered a problem with Twitter and Facebook.  While they are great communication tools they have limited or no archive.  One of the most valuable things I thought would result from blogging was the lasting archive of what I wrote.  Much like a diary, I could go back and re-live the things I wrote about.  So while FB and Twitter are awesome for sharing brief moments of my day, they suck at the archive.  There is nothing to be done about though other than just try to write and post more often.

These last 3 months of the year have been crazy.  I have a very active project at work and so many other real-life things that it has nearly squeezed out time for extra things like blogging.  Still I see vast area for improvement.  My time management skills at home could be improved quite a bit.  It is a struggle to keep up with calls and correspondance.  But it is all part of the trade-off of moving to an island.  If i were still in Kansas right now, I'd be freezing inside and probably complaining about all the time needed to go visiting every weekend.  Lives are full no matter what you do *grin*.

Gabe finished a school project.  It is due today.  We did an experiment on evaporation.  While not the most scientific of topics, it did go over the basics of how to do a project.  In case anyone wondered... water does not evaporate all that quickly during a rainy cool week in Wellington by the sea.  Like really not at all.

I have spent a lot of time on personal reflection.  My Dad died which I suppose makes anyone think about things.  But even more than this I have just been thinking about life.  I have not come to any profound conclusion and I am not seeking any specific answers.  I guess it is just good to review things now and then and see if anything needs to be re-filed.

I do want to get back to writing much more.  I know some new tricks.  I know music greatly enhances my muse.  I know I need to chart out when I feel like writing and see what I can do to make myself available for writing in those times.  I suppose it is all steady progress toward a goal.  I find that living each day is just so enjoyable I am not driven to improve things greatly.  I hope this is a good thing and not a sign of complacency or laziness.  I am looking forward to Christmas and a long holiday after.  There are certainly some great advantages to kiwi life :-) .