Priorities

Time rushes by.  I am so busy.  Work. Morris dance. Time bank.  Radio show.  Family gatherings.  Chores. I'm just caught up in it, focusing on the immediate deadlines.  I need to make choices about how I spend my time.  I will have a little more leeway in my schedule in July. How will I spend that time? Some many things I want to do:

1. Morris dance camp
2. Time bank conference
3. See my family -- various people in various places, so this is really more than one item on my to do list
4. Go to the ocean
5. Stay home.   Take some time for reflection, writing, meditation, communing with nature.  Catch up on projects and chores.
6. Figure out what to do with my life.  Find another way to earn a living.  

It is tempting to go with items 1 and 2, because there's where my inertia is now.  I think that instead, I need to find a way to focus on 6.  It's a hard one to do, because there's no clearcut way to accomplish it.  

One way to start is to think about what I want to do.  I have a lot of ideas.  I've had the same ideas for years, but I just keep going in circles because I haven't managed to move from swirl of ideas to implementation.  I know that I like to work with information in support of a community that values what I have to offer and is working toward goals consistent with my values.  I care about:

• Education.  Helping people to grow in knowledge, skill, critical thinking, compassion, and wisdom. Helping people to understand nature and society.
• Restorative justice.
• Sustainable living, renewable energy, the transition movement, small business, organic agriculture, permaculture.  I would not be an expert in these areas.  My expertise might be in education, and my employer would educate people about these things.  

What can I do to move my life forward? There are a few approaches I can think of:

1. There are two organization that seem to be working toward all of the above things.  One is a college, and the other is a camp.  I give money to these organization.  I check their job postings.  I did ask once at one about volunteer work.  Both are some distance from where I live.  I could make a trip there, but I couldn't volunteer there on a weekly basis.  Maybe in July I could take some vacation time to visit one or both of those places.  Maybe I could find a way to be involved in a short term way.
2. Maybe I could get involved in more of the things happening in my local community.  I'm over-extended now.  Maybe I should quit Morris dance and join the transition group instead.
3. Are there skills I can develop? One of my problems is that I'm not sure what I can or want to offer.  I like working with databases and web sites and statistics, but I'm a real amateur at it.  If I could focus on something and develop my skills in that area, then I would have something to offer.  

Sometimes people get in a rut. They say they want to do something.  They keep saying it for years but they never do anything.  I see that in others. I see that in myself.  I don't want to be that person.  I'm struggle to break out of the rut.