After considering the vast opportunities that are part of life without many boundaries I find myself seeking structure and constraint. Artistically it is always simpler to produce a new piece when some definition of what drove the work or inspired the thinking has been identified. But is it always good to share the construct? Critics rush in where rules of engagement are known. There is no shortage of, 'but you didn't' when falling short of a difficult or murky goal.
Revisiting a subject is both enriching and painful when folding in learning from the first attempt and gatherings from the meta-structure. And the fifth attempt should yield yet a different lesson, but too much working the dough and you have a starter tough as nails and nasty tasting as a boot. I long to capture the lofty spirit without introducing bombast or silliness. Does that require just the right spice, word or dance step? Can I get my point across without being adept?
The beginning of the big middle seems full of space, light, adventure. Yet without my alethiometer or a compass of some sort I have visited the gardens of several potentates without learning the language of the land and certainly no taste of pomegranite was there for me. It turns out that when I have no expectations whatsoever I can learn nothing in return. Who expected that the opposite of close minded turns out to be mindless, or worse yet heartless?
As a practice within a private space I have set goals for many years. I'm not sure why I have a drive to do this, but some findings I can share are these. If you wish to set goals, you need to write them down or they are just fairy stories, entirely useless. Some of them had better be ridiculous, either fun or impossible or it is just drudgery or self-flagelation. Set a cycle for this (think periodic like monthly or yearly), if you just do it in some chaotic fashion you won't understand what they mean later.
And what I mean by later is the cool part. They are absolutely meaningless as goals all by themselves. Hurray, I'm free, goals are not part of the critics packpack. Where they actually help me is that first I set them out in some sort of written format and then I revisit them later. They all get noted in the same place so it is easy to see what I dreamt, how I thought it worked out a year later (in my case) and then over a longer time what those longer term thoughts meant to my earlier self.
The value of life in the Big Middle is that there is some wisdom available. The difficulty is that I am still working out what precious learnings have value and what tools will assist most is mining some wisdom.
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I'm delighted we are back to the big middle. The title itself is a wonderful metaphor that lassos a significant dynamic in contemporary life--its pluralism, its "multi-culturals" and smorgasbord of differences, it's sheer abundance, including constant calls to make choices. Said differently, it's a never ending set of catalogues not only tempting potential buyers to swallow the bait but also the fishhook. In fact, it's enough to drive you and the mailman nuts--if, of course, you are at all interested in living your life with a measure of reflection and depth.
So, yes, there is a place for borders and boundaries. Except there are also lots of other things that can go along with them, including--fences, corrals, walls, barriers, even stockades. Ah, now I see it--the BIG middle.
So where to put down some stakes in all this territory--a very BIG question for a very BIG middle. It's enough to make you huff and puff--SO I'm huffing and puffing. Any help out there? I could use a stake or two. Perhaps also a tape measure?
More to come.
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