Stopping to Take a Look Around

I'm discovering an interesting side-effect of LJ: reading what other people are doing with "the time that is given them" makes me more aware of how I'm spending my own.

At the moment, I'm going to a temp job which pays the bills but brings no satisfaction, engaging in studies I find rewarding and challenging, and vegging out in the evening before bed with a particularly addictive computer game called Alchemy. I am not spending quality time with my daughter, reading good books outside of my studies, spending time with my friends, or doing any creative writing. I'm not taking good care of my house. I'm not even watching any good movies. I am doing more journal writing -- not just here, but in my private, written journal -- for the first time in years, and that's a positive sign.

My spiritual life is entirely in my head right now -- which isn't unusual for me, but something I've been trying to change.

Actually everything is in my head right now, and far too serious. I need more playfulness, more sensuality, more silliness, more laughter in my life. And I need more of other people - up close and in person, not just in writing.

Descriptive Dozen Lemming

This is a more-interesting-than-some lemming I found on gothic_coop's journal:

Imagine you are meeting a new person - blind date, new friend, who knows - and you wanted them to have some idea of what kind of person you are, and who you are. But you can't actually tell them in so many words. Instead, you have to give them a box, with a dozen things in it for them to look at/read/listen to/taste/whatever.

What would you put in the box? And a copy of your journal or a link to your LJ would be the same thing as just telling them directly, so that's not allowed.


My Descriptive Dozen

1. Picture of my parents, my sister and me.

2. A copy of my Bachlelor's degree thesis: "A Director's Analysis of Three Plays About Queen Christina of Sweden"

3. "Sacred Journey" Portrait (A painting of me as a Celtic/Indian woman, with my daughter on my back looking over my shoulder. I'm carrying a staff with a crystal on the top, have a pouch with a bear paw on it hanging from my belt, and am wearing a medallion with a double-headed dragon on it. I'm in front of a round portal that looks out on the stars, and most people see me moving forward toward them. A jaguar is at my feet.)

4. The manuscript of my 3/4 finished novel "Occupation"

5. My Gaming notebook

6. A "Prove Your Worth" B-5 card. It has a picture of Delenn and Sheridan walking down a corridor and says below it: "On Babylon-5 proving yourself requires commitment and action. One must not only walk the walk but talk the talk".

7. The Crafted Cup: Ritual Mysteries of the Goddess and the Grail"

8. My copy of An Early Christian Reader -- The NT arranged with the books in chronological order, plus other early church documents like the Didache, annotated with several years' worth of my notes and underlining from both an academic and devotional perspective

9. Statue of Athena

10. The movie "The Last Starfighter"

11. My Masters Degree transcript

12. Beloved Exile by Parke Godwin -- Guinevere's story after the fall of Camelot

George Bailey & Me

I've been having some serious George Bailey feelings during the last few days. (George Baily - Jimmy Stewart - "It's a Wonderful Life")

During Christology class last weekend, Fr. R. told us, "I don't think that there's going to be a doctrinal quiz after we die. What's going to happen is that God is going to invite us into a nice room, seat us in a comfortable chair, offer us a drink, and then say, 'So tell me what you did with the life I gave you. Who is better off because you lived?'"

( I've been contemplating that question off and on since then, and am not getting very comfortable answers. )

The "Sacred Journey" Story

( The portrait I listed in the Descriptive Dozen is the result of a long collaborative process with a talented artist I know. )

Latin Frivolity

I'm seldom *so* disgruntled that I can't find a reason to smile somewhere.




Magister Mundi sum!
"I am the Master of the Universe!"
You are full of yourself, but you're so cool you
probably deserve to be. Rock on.


Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
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