Gym this morning, legs, so I’m a bit shaky on stairs now. I accidentally set my alarm clock a half hour late, but got in a decent workout anyway.
I was thinking this morning about what I really need, based on some recent discussion in one of my email groups. (One thing I need is a better word for those. "List", unqualified, has too many other meanings. "Newsgroup" has the right feel, but technically describes those posts one reads with a newsreader, not the ones disseminated in e-mail. Since I most read them online in a browser these days, though, the distinction seems increasingly finicky. But I digress.) Judging by their journal entries today, Natalie and Phelps have been thinking along similar lines, so I decided to record my thoughts here.
The answer to "What do I need?" depends, mostly on exactly what the question is. If it’s "What do I need to survive?" the answer is, "Not much". Edible and reasonably nourishing food, shelter, protective clothing, some time to rest, and access to at least a few books to save my sanity. In "shelter", I have to include some climate control -- it gets up to 115 degrees out here routinely, and I could no more survive that without cooling than I could a Minnesota winter without fire. Not necessarily mechanical air-conditioning; misting systems work well, as do the thick sod roofs on Navajo hogans.
If the question is, "What do I need to be content?" the answer is longer, but still somewhat less than I have now. T, friends, a comfortable home (which could be half the size of ours), books or a nearby library, a reasonably interesting job with decent vacation time, access to mountain or water sports (I have both), a working car or decent public transportation, good food, some discretionary.
If the question is, "What do I need to be blissfully happy all the time?", I don’t know. I’m not sure it’s even in my nature; I like to have something to loook forward to, something still to achieve. I could suggest improvements, certainly; more local friends, a more flexible, more creative job that’s also a personal quest and of benefit to the world, much more free time, a home in a more reasonable climate, a friendlier community. More books, more bookshelves. A nicer-looking, and even more comfortable home. More time and money to travel. But if I had all those, would my life be complete? I hope not. How boring.
BREAKING NEWS
I just read the following quote from Garrison Keillor, which pertains to some of the above paragraphs, and which may be the answer to things I’ve worried about for a long time:
Not everyone has a Life’s Work. Some people simply have a Life.Posted by dichroic at June 5, 2001 08:31 AM