Dragonfly Time

Dragonfly time. Whole different gig. Well, kind of. Let's see.....

During my one year of Opus I didn't buy clothes or articles of adornment. (Yes, I remember the accidental tee-shirt) So, tomorrow I'm going to go out and buy these; new sneakers (mine have holes in them), new Levi's 505 jeans (one pair. and why is it called a pair? does that refer to the number of legs?), one package socks (men's tube socks, for the winter), I think that's it. Refine my first new sacrifice. Tweak the old one a bit.

1. I can only buy ONE wearable item a month (and no more house buying).

Rule two from Opus was no credit card usage. Still works.

2. No credit card usage.

The former third rule was only two bought coffee drinks a week. I've done pretty good with that. I've driven right past Starbucks countless times and just made a french press at home.

3. Same. No more than two bought coffees a week.

The fourth was a secret sacrifice and that will stay the same too.

4. The Secret One

Since those are pretty much the same as before, I feel compelled to add a couple new things. Which I don't necessarily think of as sacrifice but just "commitments" to my year. And now that I think about it, I want to think of them all, the sacrifices, the goals, the defining things, to be Commitments. Simplify!

5. Figure out a way or have an idea or create a situation where I give back. Where I do something to make the world better for someone else. (Is that f**king hokey!? Man, I need to go drink a few beers and pull myself together.)

6. Get a flipping job. Whoa! Okay, let me just get this out right now. Ready? I AM NEVER AGAIN GOING TO WORK AN EIGHT TO FIVE JOB. Whew. But, as no one is throwing cash my way to just exist, I have to be realistic (Dragonfly - moving beyond self-created illusions). Here's my dream. Work a twenty hour a week job (with benefits?!), also teach my poetry class, and do other things to piece it together. Flexibility is key. Maybe sell my furniture (Hahahaha), or teach a poetry workshop outside of the college arena. I don't know. I'm throwing it out to the universe (please take care of me, universe).

7. The creativity - No more four hours a day. I'm going to shoot for two. Two hours a day, five days a week of working at the creative. I still have book ideas, documentary thoughts, and, oh, ten more pieces of furniture in the garage. I did not learn how to can in my year of Opus, so I'll do it this year. Failure is NOT an ending, it is a chance for a new beginning (Could someone put that quote on a calendar?).

There. Seven commitments. And I'm going to throw out a challenge for you. Make two commitments. From June 1st to June 1st. Oh, do it. It helps to tell people. You can e-mail me. I think this last year, for many reasons, made me stronger, and more appreciative of what I have. It felt good to want a skirt, and NOT get it. The separation of want and need is important. That does not mean that we shouldn't also get what we want, (See, I didn't NEED that house in Kansas) it just feels good to be very conscious of the choices we make. And baby, it's all about the choices.


I can't find the quote I wanted to put here but I can kind of remember it. It's like this....

If you want to change your life, you have to CHANGE YOUR LIFE.