Your Life in the Future

I want to have friends that are virtuous or at least trying to lead a virtuous life; who consider the development of virtue and relationship with God to be of primal importance. I want to have friends who are a mix of productive and contemplative; who can think about and discuss things openly and honestly, while still being able to help me out in a bind, and whom I can learn from. These would be people who shape the material landscape with their brains and hands - farmers, writers, engineers, builders. I want these people to be personable, reliable, and tight-knit.

I want to have leisure that is:

reading and discussing good books - theology, journals, and stories.
singing good music with friends.
continuing to improve my drawing skills.
do things with my body - carpentry, field work, etc.

The environments that I do these in need to be conducive. E.G. - the shop needs to be more hospitable (water, maybe snacks, music)

I want friends who will challenge me and call me out. I want friends who I can challenge without being a complete upturning. I would like to have a social life which is not at odds with my productive life, and rather compliments it. I want to not have hard boundaries between productivity and pleasure, but at the same time, not have everything devolve into one or the other.

The ideal family life I have in mind is open and communicative.

I would like children to be involved (or at least able to) in the family enterprise. I would like my wife to have a role in that which she does not feel burdened by, but rather is an excellent use of her skills. I think that even secretarial work, involving money, could be too burdensome. I want to strike a balance: I would like to be able to invite my children to participate, not beg them to. I would like the enterprise to be scalable in that way.

I hope my partner is:

Honest and open.
Stable and calm - while still bold.
Secure in knowing she is loved.
Intelligent and handy.
Shares my values - but compliments my capabilities.

I hope to be able to involve my parents in my life - and her parents - and even take them in. I want to be close with them, with good boundaries.

I hope that my career is:

Independent of large (often evil) agencies
Facilitates technical growth
Works with local people as much as possible
Can involve children - so has a good amount of manual labor
Helps local people; works with local people; builds up local community
Stays in touch with biological processes and the laws of nature
Solves real problems, like lack of good healthy food

Vision

A Holistic and Holy World
Deep and living roots between plants, land, people, and God
People engaged in productive labor that they own

Mission

Build local community that unites work, faith, and family
Grow healthier food and ecosystems to prevent disease and increase quality of life
Form appropriate technology and systems at the service of the above

Goals & Actions

These are manly rules - DIFFICULT BUT ACHIEVABLE! Do what God wants though - failure is not (mortal) sin!

Daily

Healthy lunch
Exercise and stretch
Talk with dad about one important thing in the morning
Talk with mom about one important thing in the morning
Talk with sis about one important thing in the evening
Do Examen (see below)
Set alarm for 10pm
Make bed and tidy room after waking

Few times a week

Play a sport

Weekly

Men's group
Set up one new social appointment
Offer two 1:1 meetings with old friends (events do not count)
Make a preflight checklist for the week, early Sunday morning

Monthly

1 conference
1 new skill/subject per month
1 fiction book/month
Balance books
Plan an outing for friends
Facilitate two friends meeting one another

Other

Try to make one new connection at EVERY event
Take on projects that are just on the edge of my abilities
Build improvements for the shop
Read poetry rather than browsing the interwebs?

Drive Towards

A garden/farm plan (keep it portable)
A house plan (first, what are the needs?)
A more functional shop

Ignatian Examen

Place yourself in God's presence. Give thanks for His love!
Pray for the grace to understand God's action in your life.
Review your day - recall specific moments and feelings.
Reflect on what you did/said/thought. Did you draw to God?
Look to tomorrow - how might you collaborate more effectively with God? (Write your do-list for tomorrow), and conclude with the "Our Father".

4.4 KiB Raw Blame History