Thursday, July 10, 2008

Thursday musings

Before I settle down for a late-night study session, I thought I'd share a few notes from my side project at work today. When I wasn't giving lessons, I was working on a creativity project and filling out a goals worksheet.

I learned a lot about myself by being honest and answering the questions with the first thing that popped into my head.

There are questions like:

*Make a list of 10 things outside your control that you worry about so much that you can't even bear to talk about them anymore.

*Make a list of 10 people you admire. Make a list of 10 people you'd like to talk to over the next 12 months. Is there a common denominator?

Almost all the things I worry about are dependent on the actions of others, a factor I cannot control and therefore, should excise from my valuable time. I was shocked to realize that almost one-third of every day is spent sleeping. (I knew it, in my head, but when it came out in a pie chart, those 8 hours actually loomed over the rest of the shadowed areas!) With a third of the day gone, there's no time for needless worry.

And the people lists? There are common denominators. The people I admire and also need to talk with in the next year are primarily women, who work in some kind of creative field or are the creative muse types, and you come away from an afternoon with them feeling like you could conquer the world. Sadly, there are few males in the list, which indicates a serious lack of inspiring, intellectually stimulating male friends in my life. Not to be surprising, given where I find myself, but still, saddening. I love the friends I have, but feel like something is missing.

As I mentioned to a friend the other day, it is difficult to find friends of that sort in Brazil when one's work hours are spent with adolescents on the street and children of drug dealers in the slums. And all your nights are filled with graduate class work. Perhaps I can start haunting art shows...just as soon as this degree is finished!

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