kestrel
kestrel
Prompt 030: My Top 5 Changes
30. What are the top five things you want to change for you in the future? How likely do you think they are to happen and why?
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I'll list each of the five things (in no particular order), followed by a rating of 1 through 5, where 1 = "Highly unlikely to change," and 5 = "Will happen, without a doubt."
1. LIVE IN AN OFF-GRID HOME (2). This is a big one. I want to live somewhere remote, or at least in some measure of appreciable wilderness.
I don't necessarily like cities, and I'm flat-out bored with the suburbs. Furthermore, I find the typical lifestyle of most Americans to be irresponsible, consumerist-driven, and wasteful. Although I don't criticize people to their face, I think that it's wrong to eat other animals and people should strive to embrace a vegetarian lifestyle. This is particularly directed towards those who are making kids. When their lifestyle proceeds in such a way as to jeopardize the lives of their children - who will eventually inherit the Earth once these parents are gone - people should do everything they can to preserve and protect what's left of the habitable land base.
Obviously, I'd be hypocritical if I didn't embrace this lifestyle myself (even though I have no children and won't make any). At the same time, this is a situation where "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak," so to speak. In order for this to occur, I imagine I will need to do the following:
- Review plans for off-grid housing (I'm particularly taken with shipping-container housing construction, at the moment).
- Generate the funds necessary to construct a home on land suitably removed from city life. This could be part of a commune or intentional community, if required.
- Carry out construction.
- Move there.
2. A LOVING, SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIP (3). This could go either way, as I see it now. I have had these before, and I know I enjoy them while I'm involved in them. Additionally, as I grow older I know that I prefer the company of others while exploring and doing things throughout the world.
At the same time, I can't rightly say that I feel positive about pursuing a relationship right now. I do feel somewhat petrified by the possibility of "emotionally shutting down" like I did in my most-recent dating adventure. And just today I had an excellent conversation with a platonic friend of mine, and found it very fulfilling. Maybe all I'm really seeking is meaningful relationships? And I'm pretty good at solo sex, not to mention plenty of memories of good times...
It's not as though remaining contentedly single has never happened before in the history of humankind. I wonder what it would take to cultivate a close circle of friends who always had one another's back when the going got tough. I'm not there at the moment.
3. TRAVEL THE ENTIRE GREAT AMERICAN RAIL TRAIL BY BICYCLE (3). The GART is a 3,700-mile bicycle trail that is planned to stretch across 12 states in the US. One end is in Washington, DC, and the other is in Washington state.
https://www.railstotrails.org/greatamericanrailtrail/
The trail isn't done yet, but there's 1,900 miles of it complete. If I'm somehow able to build in a hiatus at my day job for a couple months, I will do this. I figure about 1,000 miles a month is what I'd like to plot out. In its current state, I would start at the East Coast end (the end to which I currently live closest), and go as far as Ohio.
I've done long bicycle rides before, and in greater distance-per-day than I'm budgeting for this. Whatever part of the trail is done, I'd like to do the entire thing. It's also doubtful I'd want to do this alone, so recruiting at least one fellow rider for the trip would be ideal.
4. BECOME A WORLD-CLASS INSTRUCTOR (3). I feel strongly in this area. As part of my day job, I develop and facilitate learning for people who want better jobs. As time has gone on, I've become better at this, and feel I've hit my stride and am experiencing growth with each month I teach.
What else do I need to become a more-effective instructor for adults? Do I need to return to school for a Masters in Education? Do I need additional certifications? Do I need to attend more and more workshops? Do I need to be in the classroom more? The answer to one or more of these is "yes," but I'm not completely certain which.
5. HAVE THREE PUBLISHED BOARD GAMES (2). I have a number of designs fleshed-out, but have yet to shepherd any through to successful publishing. I could self-publish of course, or attempt a Kickstarter campaign to fund it, but neither of those options interest me. What I want to do is attract the attention of a legitimate tabletop game publishing company, pitch it to them, have them say "yes," and eventually see my game in a box and on a store shelf.
Many of my friends and acquaintances have been published successfully. I don't see why I can't also be counted among their number. The thing that most intimidates me is initiating a conversation with a publisher, since I've yet to successfully do that.
I've had a couple false-starts in the past, but nowadays since my game designs have more exposure to vetted designers who can help with providing excellent, useful feedback and critique, I feel closer to "publishable" these days than I did before. But how much further do I need to go to make it to "yes"?
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There's a big difference between "moving" (which is more about planning and plotting and deciding) and "action" (which is when you do the thing). It's clear that, in order to live the life I want, I have to shift my ass in gear on a number of fronts.