. The best thing I took from the book is when her friend/promotions manager suggests that she submit a petition to the Universe. She suggests that if Elizabeth wants so badly for things in this life to go her way (specifically for her long drawn out divorce to be final so that she can travel) and she believes that her desires are reasonable and beneficial to the world then she should petition the universe by mentally listing all the people she knows who would support her. So here I submit to the universe...if you believe that our desire to travel the country as a family, learning about people and places, learning about each other, experiencing life rather than just reading about it, and reconnecting with the needs of the planet and her inhabitants would be beneficial to ALL...please sign our petition!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Please Sign Our Petition
Recently, I read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The best thing I took from the book is when her friend/promotions manager suggests that she submit a petition to the Universe. She suggests that if Elizabeth wants so badly for things in this life to go her way (specifically for her long drawn out divorce to be final so that she can travel) and she believes that her desires are reasonable and beneficial to the world then she should petition the universe by mentally listing all the people she knows who would support her. So here I submit to the universe...if you believe that our desire to travel the country as a family, learning about people and places, learning about each other, experiencing life rather than just reading about it, and reconnecting with the needs of the planet and her inhabitants would be beneficial to ALL...please sign our petition!
. The best thing I took from the book is when her friend/promotions manager suggests that she submit a petition to the Universe. She suggests that if Elizabeth wants so badly for things in this life to go her way (specifically for her long drawn out divorce to be final so that she can travel) and she believes that her desires are reasonable and beneficial to the world then she should petition the universe by mentally listing all the people she knows who would support her. So here I submit to the universe...if you believe that our desire to travel the country as a family, learning about people and places, learning about each other, experiencing life rather than just reading about it, and reconnecting with the needs of the planet and her inhabitants would be beneficial to ALL...please sign our petition!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Old habits die hard...but die they must!
Yesterday I went to the store and in my mind I had already had this discussion, but I still came home with nearly $200 worth of weekly groceries that were promptly added to my larder...most of it will not be used this week. Today, as I looked through it all I had to vocalize to the family that I MUST stop doing this. I must learn to live with less storage and that means less food. The thought of it causes me some stress. I am so accustomed to having plenty that I don't even see that it is actually excess! This is the story of our lives anymore and it really hits home today that I do not want my kids to be raised this way. Recently a friend of mine posted this link on his facebook. My children definitely enjoy chocolate less than I did as a kid...they get it too often! Living a simple life is going to help us to take pleasure in the pleasures in life again! I can't wait.
Until then, we set about killing old habits and forming new ones...we will keep you posted!
Friday, October 1, 2010
We are Faith filled...
The essence of any religion lies solely in the answer to the question: why do I exist, and what is my relationship to the infinite universe that surrounds me? ... It is impossible for there to be a person with no religion (i.e. without any kind of relationship to the world) as it is for there to be a person without a heart. He may not know that he has a religion, just as a person may not know that he has a heart, but it is no more possible for a person to exist without a religion than without a heart.
(Leo Tolstoy, 1879)
I recently submitted a request to be listed on the blog for families on the road called...Families on the Road. The policy for the blog is that you must be on the road, or within four months of launch, to be listed. I did not list a launch date because I have NO idea when we will get going!! I desperately want to be there RIGHT NOW! Definitely before 4 months time...everyday I wake up and realize that all the dreams I had that night of being on the road were just dreams, I feel a drop in my spirit...a bit of disappointment. The blog has rejected my request, at this time, because I simply don't meet the requirements for inclusion...yet.
I considered putting a date that is four months out on the form. I am not as confident as I would like to be that we will get the show on the road by then. I told a friend that I wish, at times like this, that I believed in God...so I could confidently say "its in God's hands now," and not fear that, without my constant pushing, the dream will die. We (my husband and I) don't believe in God. That is to say that we don't believe in the God of the Bible. Or the God of the Qu'ran, or Greek Gods, Pagan, Hindu, Buddhist, Roman, or others. We do have a deep spiritual desire to believe in a higher power, but we do not label it...or at least we try not to limit it to the personification that has resulted in the various "Gods". If we were to name our higher power, it would be named "the energy that permeates the universe and all that is"...we often refer to it as "the universe." We also do not "pray" per se. I rarely ask the universe for anything, because I believe that I am in the service of the universe, not the other way around. On occasion, however, I have so desperately wanted something that I have bargained with the universe. Last year (October 24, 2009) I was admitted to the hospital after an emergency room trip revealed that I was slowly bleeding to death as a necrotic mass grew within my uterus. For several months prior to the ER visit (I am not fond of doctors) I became increasingly aware that something was not right within me. At the time, I smoked cigarettes. One day, in mid September, I made a "deal" with the universe. I promised to never smoke again, if the universe would let me live. I have not smoked since. The mass was removed on 10/30/2009 and the pathology revealed no cancer! I lived, and still do! And I will never smoke again.
Many people will say that my "universe" and their God are the same. I think in many ways they are. The distinction, in my mind, is that I do not think we do all we do for a single entity...for God. I believe that the universe is exactly what it implies...all the energy that can be known to man...including man. So when I bargain with the universe I am asking that every human, plant, moving stream, flowing volcano, animal and breeze...everything that is of energy...to find me worthy of the bargain and to see that the bargain is beneficial
to all!
(Leo Tolstoy, 1879)
I recently submitted a request to be listed on the blog for families on the road called...Families on the Road. The policy for the blog is that you must be on the road, or within four months of launch, to be listed. I did not list a launch date because I have NO idea when we will get going!! I desperately want to be there RIGHT NOW! Definitely before 4 months time...everyday I wake up and realize that all the dreams I had that night of being on the road were just dreams, I feel a drop in my spirit...a bit of disappointment. The blog has rejected my request, at this time, because I simply don't meet the requirements for inclusion...yet.
I considered putting a date that is four months out on the form. I am not as confident as I would like to be that we will get the show on the road by then. I told a friend that I wish, at times like this, that I believed in God...so I could confidently say "its in God's hands now," and not fear that, without my constant pushing, the dream will die. We (my husband and I) don't believe in God. That is to say that we don't believe in the God of the Bible. Or the God of the Qu'ran, or Greek Gods, Pagan, Hindu, Buddhist, Roman, or others. We do have a deep spiritual desire to believe in a higher power, but we do not label it...or at least we try not to limit it to the personification that has resulted in the various "Gods". If we were to name our higher power, it would be named "the energy that permeates the universe and all that is"...we often refer to it as "the universe." We also do not "pray" per se. I rarely ask the universe for anything, because I believe that I am in the service of the universe, not the other way around. On occasion, however, I have so desperately wanted something that I have bargained with the universe. Last year (October 24, 2009) I was admitted to the hospital after an emergency room trip revealed that I was slowly bleeding to death as a necrotic mass grew within my uterus. For several months prior to the ER visit (I am not fond of doctors) I became increasingly aware that something was not right within me. At the time, I smoked cigarettes. One day, in mid September, I made a "deal" with the universe. I promised to never smoke again, if the universe would let me live. I have not smoked since. The mass was removed on 10/30/2009 and the pathology revealed no cancer! I lived, and still do! And I will never smoke again.
Many people will say that my "universe" and their God are the same. I think in many ways they are. The distinction, in my mind, is that I do not think we do all we do for a single entity...for God. I believe that the universe is exactly what it implies...all the energy that can be known to man...including man. So when I bargain with the universe I am asking that every human, plant, moving stream, flowing volcano, animal and breeze...everything that is of energy...to find me worthy of the bargain and to see that the bargain is beneficial
to all!
Our Faith is in the universe, and ALL its energy...including you.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
there are things and there are chickens...
There are many things I will soon be parting with...hot rollers...when have I EVER used those (i mean when since 1982)...and books (which is hard but I love my kindle). and clothes that I will never fit in again. and at least two of the mini food processors that I never touch. and most likely my kitchenaid mixer (that will make me cry). but these things, while hard to part with , are just things. I will get over them and, when I hand them off to their new owner, they will not cock their heads to the side and "cuck caw?" in a confused sounding plea for explanation...
...we have four chickens--PET chickens--we love them. Three are buff orpingtons (chicky, chicky, and chicky) and the other is the black australorp named Pip. They give us eggs and we give them all kinds of juicer pulp treats and let them run free in our yard and sometimes carry them around and scratch them right between their shoulder blades (wing blades?). We even let them come in and say hello when the weather is too nice to keep the door shut. We aren't going to eat them...not even going to just freeze them so we can always have them near...nope. We are going to find them a new home. I worry though that no home will love them like we do (I also worry that times are tough and someone may get desperate for some cheap protein). Until then, we are going to spoil them rotten and take lots of pictures and start interviewing for potential adoptive families...
...we have four chickens--PET chickens--we love them. Three are buff orpingtons (chicky, chicky, and chicky) and the other is the black australorp named Pip. They give us eggs and we give them all kinds of juicer pulp treats and let them run free in our yard and sometimes carry them around and scratch them right between their shoulder blades (wing blades?). We even let them come in and say hello when the weather is too nice to keep the door shut. We aren't going to eat them...not even going to just freeze them so we can always have them near...nope. We are going to find them a new home. I worry though that no home will love them like we do (I also worry that times are tough and someone may get desperate for some cheap protein). Until then, we are going to spoil them rotten and take lots of pictures and start interviewing for potential adoptive families...
want some chickens?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
A road map of the PATH
So the path we are planning to take is to get an RV and take the kids on the road for the adventure of life...great...how do we go about doing that!!?? We have about 1100 sq ft of space now and we fill it pretty well. We have stuff , lots of it! Thinking about making such a BIG life change is a bit overwhelming, and should probably be approached with caution...at least a little bit. So we are making a list of what must be done...a running master list, of sorts, that we will add to as we discover new "to dos". The list will be under the "live" tab of this blog and we will line out items as we accomplish them and add items as we discover them...we would also love to here from you...anything that you would like to suggest for the list (whether based on experience, because you want to see us try it, or because it is important to you) can be sent privately as an email (livefreelynow@live.com) or posted as a comment.
checkpoints on the path:
checkpoints on the path:
- locate and purchase RV
- give notice on lease and job
- prioritize possessions
- purge possessions
- eat chickens?
- establish route
- plan income
- logistics...mail, phones, Internet...etc
- move out of house, into RV
- fill tank
- go
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Osmosis for emergency use only...
On Sunday, the boys spent the day waiting for their father to arrive for a quick visit. Michael, their father (my ex) just retired from the Navy (congrats to Mike!) and is moving his family (wife Rachel and son Peter) from San Diego to the east coast. They are driving the car (the stuff the Navy is moving) cross country in a quick trip. They planned to get here Sunday afternoon, but when traveling with a baby--plans are often not reality. So they got here a little late and the kids stayed up a little late on a "school" night...and...
SLEEP HAPPENS!
OSMOSIS RULES
SLEEP HAPPENS!
Monday, September 27, 2010
The offense of money...
Money. I hate it, passionately. I hate that this current way of life is ALL about it...
earning it,
spending it,
worrying about it,
never having enough of it.
Money is used to categorize people...you know...the haves, have muchs, have littles, and have nots...
We define a person's "success" by what they earn...we actually take the whole person and within minutes minimize them into a measurement of "successfulness" based upon their display of money. It is displayed, of course, in what they wear and what they drive, where they live and what cell phone they carry...
it is obscene!
And what is the worst of it all....???? MONEY is totally REQUIRED to live in this country (most countries). Even the self sufficient are part of the money game...there is no way to avoid it.
So while consumerism is something I detest--and you will frequently hear me bash--it is the money that I, too, require to live...and yes, you will see advertisements on this blog AND I will hope that you do, on occasion, click on them...the path I intend to follow will require a somewhat hefty initial outlay of the dreaded MONEY and every little bit helps.
earning it,
spending it,
worrying about it,
never having enough of it.
Money is used to categorize people...you know...the haves, have muchs, have littles, and have nots...
We define a person's "success" by what they earn...we actually take the whole person and within minutes minimize them into a measurement of "successfulness" based upon their display of money. It is displayed, of course, in what they wear and what they drive, where they live and what cell phone they carry...
it is obscene!
And what is the worst of it all....???? MONEY is totally REQUIRED to live in this country (most countries). Even the self sufficient are part of the money game...there is no way to avoid it.
So while consumerism is something I detest--and you will frequently hear me bash--it is the money that I, too, require to live...and yes, you will see advertisements on this blog AND I will hope that you do, on occasion, click on them...the path I intend to follow will require a somewhat hefty initial outlay of the dreaded MONEY and every little bit helps.
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