Buddha said, What we think, we become. I learned that from CN, in Phnom Penh, at a time when there was so much that was up in the air. He was a former monk who got into personal leadership, and related, and our overlapping interests in this field got us connected.
These types of questions: Where to go, what to do, how to live (next), what matters, what doesn’t, where to focus, what to let go. These things. All was called into question.
This was about six years before covid, and I had come to this part of the world to ‘practice the new, uncertain, and different.’ In, vaguely, South and Southeast Asia. This is quite general I know, but, there you are, youth, and everything; some plans fell through in some places and [deleted]… turned out to be not who I thought they were. Life. You learn as you go through it. Main thing to do here, I think, is, to keep your eye on the ball. The point was to practice uncertainty, and when all the nets are seemingly gone, you really kind of have to start walking the walk.
Between Gangtok and Phnom Penh, a year happened.
Options. Were beginning to wear thinner and thinner as doors (felt like they) were closing.
Ten years ‘on the road’ really was mostly being in Phnom Penh. Vaguely. Curiously. Making-it-up-as-we-go-y.
As such, discovery and co-discovery became more of a focus, which was how blogging turned into co-creating a zine, a zine called S P A C E.
Design and purpose and emergence and seeing what happens when you ‘just go, see, and discover what’s there before you start putting down any stakes’ is a personal philosophy, and an approach. DK is me, so, you know. I talk about that. A lot, with the people I run with in circles in person where I am, in virtual conversations in S P A C E forums, on various calls over zoom, and once in a while, Zalo.
‘Zalo?’
‘Yup.’
‘…’
Making S P A C E every week
It starts with doing my homework, every weekend. Seeing what topics there are on my list and then going to the web to find out more. Like my day jobs used to be, when I had them, in newspapers. So fun.
Topics lately revolve around ‘success’. And ‘living with intention.’ I still have a copy of the book AG gave me, when she was talking about how important diet is to living well (she is a nutritionist; the book is called Integrative Nutrition.
Even after the 10 years of being in Asia, ‘touring’ at times but mostly sticking around Cambodia, I have hauled it around. It’s a hardback, so, like, that’s a lot of weight, I guess. Dead weight some would say but I love to turn to it when I feel like somehow things are bending out of shape. It’s grounding to have texts like this, here and there, and I am glad I still kept this and a few others. It’s comfortable.
(Side note: People who travel a lot and get gear and want to do long tours really enjoy bragging about how lightweight they can be. I am not that. I have a lot of books, still, even though I’ve also given some of them away. It’s okay. We internalize the important messages, hopefully, and if they stay with us, they mean they’re meant for us. Isn’t there an Irish expression like that? What doesn’t go by you is meant for ya.)
Goals
I am on to the 200th issue series of my weekly e-mag S P A C E, too, and persisting is part of what this video below talks about. I found it while researching. Researching the ways to elaborate on why it’s so important to establish goals, for those of us who are goal- and achievement-oriented. Reviewing here and there online, I heard the below was something to check out. So I did. Here it is.
Key to success
According to the Wikipedia page about The Strangest Secret, which was recorded in 1957, ‘Nightingale’s recording has been redistributed in various mediums since its initial release. In 2018 Janice Bryant Howroyd released an updated version with her edits and enhancements, read from a female perspective.’ Good to hear this.
I like to share the source materials when I post to ‘Found in the Field’ here at DK, a category that I have had ever since this blog got started in 2006. Discovering and sharing interesting finds is 90% of what makes DK what DK is. A place for conversations about what we are all learning, here and there, along our paths to self-development.
It’s such a buzzword, I know, but asking, “Who am I? What is my purpose?” seems kind of trendier and trendier as the years have gone by. Cool.
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Be part of conversations in S P A C E (zoom voice calls for up to 3 of us at a time), when you get a ‘3-pack of S P A C E’ at the crowdfunding page. That link is here.
