Comments on: Here, Now, This

By: susan mernit

susan mernit — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:00:47 +0000

wonderful post! these are the big questions, what you want and how to get it, and they never stop being the big questions, but knowing you want to live with passion means you have a road map to get there. Happy holidays, Susan

By: Clarisse

Clarisse — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:23:04 +0000

Ha. I wonder if everyone around a certain age comes to these questions, or if they are particularly prevalent for everyone just now.

By: Juliet

Juliet — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:06:19 +0000

bike across the country

Heh, I’ve been doing this (well, kinda; bike & train, limited time) & can definitely recommend it :)

More generally: I’ve been asking myself a lot of similar questions recently, although in slightly different format. In particular about work, and identity, and activism (in more than one arena). I’ve spent the last 3 months travelling on my own (hence being absent from the internets) & it feels a bit like everything’s been shaken up and is starting to come back down again, but I’m not yet sure *where*. I’m not due home for another 6 months, although I’ll settled-elsewhere rather than actively nomadic from the New Year. I’m kind of hoping that on my way home I can start thinking seriously about What Next, and that some of the answers will have come up from underneath in the meantime.

For me, I think the specific questions are muddled up with the big-picture questions, right now, and you’re right, separating them out is a good idea. One of the big ones for me is about where I want to direct my efforts, and whether that is going to be something that looks like paid work or not, and if *not* (which is definitely possible atm), where does the rent-money come from instead?

(The travelling helps. What am I getting out of this time? Is that something I want when I’m back home, or is it a temporary out-of-normality thing? And I’m pretty sure that one of the things that’s shaking down at the moment is a greater self-awareness, and self-possession, and preparedness to be honest, brutally so if necessary, about what I want. Taking myself away from other people’s demands, and from a context in which I am accustomed to making certain sets of demands on myself, has been – eye-opening.)

I want to make the world better, and I want to make the world work.
That rings some very noisy bells…

By: Lady Janon

Lady Janon — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:25:23 +0000

I’ve been experiencing similar struggles around my writing–do I go forward or stick with the very nice and productive career I’ve already developed?

Part of my problem, I think, is focus. I want it all, all ways. Narrowing my scope becomes difficult but staying broad makes me overwhelmed. Sigh. Good luck to you, I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

By: Ranat

Ranat — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 06:19:18 +0000

I’ve been asking a lot of similar questions lately now that I’m getting out the City soon, and the City has fucked me the hell up. One thing I find helpful is to prioritize. Because some goals might be equally important or fulfilling but at different times, and I drive myself insane thinking too far in advance (well, either too far or not far enough. I either have to think twenty years ahead or one month ahead. Anything in between will kill me).

“How much of my activism is based upon my location and the people around me? Are the things I want still the same when I am by myself, alone?”

This is a particularly thought-provoking question.

By: Shared Items - December 5, 2008 - Sugarbutch Chronicles

Shared Items - December 5, 2008 - Sugarbutch Chronicles — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:01:10 +0000

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