graffiti on a cyber wall

I spent a lot of time yesterday driving Corridor X

through Tupelo and on to Memphis where I enjoyed a nice dinner at the Pyramid Indian - Pakistani - Mediterranean Restaurant. The food was really tasty. I may very well return for dinner tonight.


Today I'm going to the Shelby Farms Memphis meetup. Should be a great time.

from  10 Things You Should Know About Yourself (aka: “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!”) series.
At long last, I’ve arrived at the final question in this series.
Am I making progress towards a goal of my choosing?

I’ve had lots of goals in my life.  I’ve achieved some and failed miserably in my efforts to achieve others. 

Funny how achieving a goal didn’t always provide the fulfillment I thought it would.  Some goals, once achieved, escaped and could have been put on a ‘goal list’ to be achieved again.


I don't have a lot of current goals in my life.  Mostly I take each moment and day as it comes along. 


Currently, my only future goal is to become a full time RVer.  It takes time to achieve a goal this involved, but the pieces are slowly falling into place for it to happen. 



In light of that, I guess I could say that I am making progress towards the multifaceted goal of my choosing.



Are you making progress towards the goal of your choosing?

All the photographs were taken at the Georgia Renaissance Festival in Fairburn, GA.

Copyright 2010 jr cline photography

So once again I tossed the coins to play this ancient binary game:

 K'un / Oppression (Exhaustion)  

Oppression. Success. Perseverance.

    There is no water in the lake:
    The image of Exhaustion.
    Thus the superior man stakes his life
    On following his will.

Six changing at the beginning means:

    One sits oppressed under a bare tree
    And strays into a gloomy valley.
    For three years one sees nothing.

Which results in

Tui / The Joyous, Lake

    The Joyous. Success.
    Perseverance is favorable.

The Image

    Lakes resting on one another:
    The image of the Joyous.
    Thus the superior man joins with his friends
    For discussion and practice.

from  10 Things You Should Know About Yourself (aka: “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!”) series.

Is everything that is in my life necessary, and adding value?


I can definitely answer no to this without a moment’s thought.   There are lots of things in my life that aren’t  necessary and/or adding value. 


I addressed this question to some extent when I answered questions  eight, four, and three.


I read a blog recently about minimizing possessions so I’ll end with a thought I gleaned from it.  The blog suggested using this rule to decide whether to keep something or not.  Do you use it and/or do you love it? Now that is a pretty straight forward test in my mind and is the one I will be using as I continue to minimize my possessions in the coming months.   If I don’t love it and I don’t use it, it can’t be adding value and it can’t be necessary.

Is everything that is in your life necessary, and adding value?


On another note, I spent most of today painting three walls in my bedroom a nice maroon color.  As usual, it will have to have another coat tomorrow.   I hope I can complete it before the new bed arrives.  hahahaha

Photographs copyright jr cline 2010

from  10 Things You Should Know About Yourself (aka: “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!”) series.

Is there something or someone I can’t live without?
Before I began this series of questions a few weeks ago, I had already begun addressing this issue.     I was attempting to simplify my life and relationships.
 

 It started with people in my life who caused distress and pain.  I had felt obligated to or had chosen to for various reasons (work relationships, family ties, length of the relationship, and …) to tolerate their negativity, or addictions, or gossiping ways, or biased judgments, or religious intolerance, or know it allness, or constant discontent, or constant complaining, or ….   One day I realized I didn’t have to tolerate these people in my life and I began the long and tedious process of weeding them out or fixing the relationship so it was more balanced.   There turned out to be a lot of people I could live without or could limit contact with.  Not just live without, but have a more fulfilling pleasant life.   I hurt a lot of people along the way.   I let some people down.   Sometimes I felt badly about it.  Most the time I didn’t.   This was not an easy process for me.   It isn’t my nature to not care.


Are there people I’d prefer not to live without?  Sure there are.  Primarily those people are my children and closest friends who have become family.  Losing my parents at the end of last year brought me to the realization that regardless of how I feel, I can survive without the people I thought I couldn’t live without.    I guess that lesson began years ago when my ex decided she no longer wanted to be family with the children and me.

Things are much easier to live without for me.  I need the basics to live: air, water, food, and some sort
of shelter from the elements.   Beyond that, I don’t have a lot of difficulty with possessions.  I’ve been busily reducing my possessions for the last couple of years in preparation for moving into a RV full time.




Photographs copyright jr cline 2010

I prefer not to spend much time on the more negative aspects of life so I’m not going to inflict my mental wanderings on you in this post.  I’ll just address the seventh question in the  10 Things You Should Know About Yourself (aka: “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!”) series.

To celebrate Paperie Boutique / @shutterblog being in May Rangefinder Magazine / @RFWPPI — win $20 to @Paper_Source at paperieboutique.com