Grey day outside

today is a very grey day...

I have decided that I will not allow the weather to overly influence me and pull me into a grey mood. The birds are singing outside still, persistently not allowing the murkiness of the atmosphere to dampen their spirits. I will be like the birds and greet the day with sunshine in my soul, a cheerful outlook with thankfulness for all of the blessings that life has given me.

I have a mail out to complete for my work and bread to make and supper to plan. I also need to do some more work on my new craft project, a felted autumn wreath. Life is groovy, time to get moving. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Figuring out what is important

Today's reading in "Words of the Ancient Wise" (blog maintained by my husband) we are reminded of the fleeting nature of things and how they control and govern our lives.

With our 25th anniversary this year we went a little "hog wild" on buying things, (tv, surround sound, piano) which we now regret somewhat. As long as we have learned the lesson though then it was still a valuable life lesson.

I always dreamed of owning a small home slightly in the country with a small piece if land for food, animals, etc. Solar and wind powered with it's own clean water source. Beautiful yet simple, an oasis from the madness that is our society and city living. We need to refocus and realize that is our ulitmate dream and start working towards it again.

Finally Checking In

Well life has thrown me some curve balls since my last post in January. I have been dealing with a lot of health issues and I am working on finding answers. Hopefully I will be posting again soon.

A New Year and a New Road

Well a New calendar year is upon us. It is now 2011! Where are the flying cars and teleport stations?

Seriously, my past post mentioned that I would be taking the month of December to contemplate my life moving forward and figure out just what I want that life to look like. Well I think I have figured out what I want my life landscape to look like moving forward.

I am a Humanist. I do not only have humanist sympathies and enjoy working for the non-profit humanist organization that I do BUT I am a humanist. I no longer believe in the God of my childhood or the later Gods that I have recently come to explore. The only being responsible for my life is ME. I am a humanist that has a foundation of the philosophy of Stoicism to react and interact from. I am a Stoic Humanist in that I no longer believe in deity but I do believe in man's ability and imperative need to act ethically.

This realization that I am a Humanist leaves me with quite a bit of fallout. I, as in all things, must strive to be true to my nature as a Humanist. In order to do this I must be genuine and act with integrity while walking through this world. This need for integrity means that I will no longer be a part of ADF as I can no longer profess a belief in the supernatural or a theistic universe. I believe that occurrences that have the appearance of being supernatural are actually natural just beyond our reason at this present time. I am good living with that ambiguity and will move forward from that point.

I am recreating my life and myself one day at a time based on this foundation of strength and truth. I am filled with a sense of wonder and excitement at what the River of my lifetime holds within its currents. Just around the river bend, like Pocahontas, filled with a zest for life and insatiable curiosity.

Make Good Choices!

Wow it has been such a long time since I have written anything here... almost 5 months!

Winter is upon us now... we had our first reasonable snowfall last night and woke up to a cold wintry wonderland this morning.

Reading Words of the Ancient Wise this morning and I discovered a comment that I had made last year... "This is the first lesson of a Stoic that Death is not to be feared but to be accepted. Once you accept that death is a part of life then you are free to live fully. The only thing of real importance is your choice and that can only be controlled by yourself. Everything else in this life is just details, many of them are wonderful details, but just details. - comments from reading Epictetus DISCOURSES. Book i. 1. 6" I realized that I am still trying to figure out the "best" choices rather than living fully... I am still waiting until I grow up and figure out what I want to be. I always wanted to live purposefully being mindful of everything. When I take stock of my life I realize that I am still living somewhat accidentally. Allowing Life to be lived through me rather than living through Life. It is a subtle and yet vital difference. I am going to spend the rest of December thinking about what I want out of Life and see if I can't start the New Year with a renewed resolve to live life with purpose.

I think the first thing to do today is to sit down and figure out what needs to be accomplished for our Winter Solstice/Saturnalia party on Friday night and for other friends' celebrations next Saturday that we are invited to participate in. Once I have that list I can start a list for the week after leading up to Xmas. This should allow me to live life more deliberately at least until after December 25th. At that point I can take some time for reflection moving into the New Year and beyond.

Mediocrity at any cost!

I find there is a trend in this modern age to devalue others accomplishments and talents. We have subscribed to this doctrine of "mediocrity and equality" to the point were there is a homogeneous mess of average. The individuals that stand out are envied and, in some cases, encouraged to conform to the norms of society so that "others" will not feel "bad".

We need to focus on finding the aspects of life that people excel at and encourage them to hone those skills to a fine edge, rather than focusing on their limitations in other areas. This change in focus will allow everyone to excel at their talents and be the best that they personally can be.

I have decided that I am going to spend some more quality time exploring a few of my talents this year, sewing and music. These are two aspects of myself that I have "let go" for various reasons but at which I excel. Hail to the fine edge of craftsmanship! I hope I can reach and attain it. :)

By our Fruits are we known

At the risk of using an old cliche, it is by our fruit that the goodness of the seed is known. How I live my life is an example of how my philosophy of life works. People will see the value of the ancient's wisdom by my ability to apply it in our modern world.

It is quite the solemn responsibility to carry the torch of philosophy forward. As I constantly refine my life to a purer form may I always keep the goal of ambassador in the forefront of my motivations.