Wednesday, January 11, 2006

5 lives, cont'd.

Continuing from the previous post... I did give the '5 imaginary lives' exercise some thought when I went to bed. And I struggled a bit to come up with the list...then I realized why. I was mixing it up in my head with Andrea's Mondo Beyondo list. I've already got that list going. The 5 imaginary lives don't have to be 'wildest dreams'--they're meant to be 5 lives that you'd be living right now if you could. At least that's how I interpret the exercise. "If you had five other lives to lead, what would you do in each of them?"

Hmmm, no wonder I was struggling a bit. I was trying to think of things that are a bit far-fetched. Truthfully, the five that first came to mind don't seem outlandish, so I guess I was sort of poo-poo'ing them.

If I could lead 5 parallel lives right now, here's what I'd be doing:
1. writer
2. photographer
3. producer and/or publisher (They utilize similar skills.)
4. coffee house owner
5. traveler

Those are honestly things that I think about doing all the time.

A year ago, before we knew we'd be relocating so soon to the mainland, Jeffrey and I talked often of owning a coffee house. We have some architecture software (heh, surprised you with that one, didn't I?)...he was really into playing around with it when we first got it. He encouraged me to, too, but I thought it was too 'complicated.' Then one day while he was at work or playing golf or at a gig, I started to fiddle around in it with some trepidation...and discovered I really liked dinking around in it. And I'd tinker around with a coffee house design. Don't reach--I don't dream of designing things, that's not where my aptitude and passion lies. Truly. I just liked visualizing having a place to call our own. But then...I'd realize what it means to be a small business owner (because my parents have had a couple of them) and how you're really tied to the business. And when I think about that dream now, it doesn't hold the same appeal for me. I think what I want more is just to hang out in coffee houses (because I missed out on that during those 5 years in the islands) and maybe stage events at them. THAT's what that's really about. So maybe #4 needs to be reworked.

The second part of the exercise is to incorporate some element from one of those 5 lives into my present life. I'll have to work on that part a bit later...because now I'm running late for work. :)

6 Comments:

At 8:37 AM, Blogger Heather said...

I love your other lives, this is all so interesting and thought provoking, the first thing that came to my mind was living in the country owning an Inn.

 
At 9:47 AM, Blogger gkgirl said...

ahhhhhh...
thats what i forgot in my list...
i have always wanted to own a bar...
heehee...
great list
:)

 
At 2:35 PM, Blogger aliceinparis said...

Hiya,
I was deciding on my 5 other lives yesterday and none of them were artistic. Interesting. Well, one of them was.

1. Doctor
2. Park Ranger
3. Philanthropist
4. Travel journalist/photog
5. Proprietor of a Tearoom/bookstore

I think that beacuse my life is full of creation that I gravitated to helper/service stuff. It was a surprise to me.

I am sure doing AW might help people get closer to some of their 5 lives if they are have chosen creative professions.

-Shelagh
PS I am going to write about AW stuff in the Azure Blog, Nothing there yet though.

 
At 2:59 PM, Blogger daru said...

wow...your five lives seem so fitting- together. like somehow, you could make them all work together! it made me think of so many fun artist date ideas for you...but not ones that would be real quick and easy. your posts give me this great visualization: every time you write something, youre getting closer and closer to diving into this vast pool of colors and light. i really think you have a lot to contribute creatively! ...i'm sorry that this comment sounds like i'm tripping...i swear there are no drugs involved here!

 
At 12:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, if you need any help with #4 (the Traveller one), I'd make a great assistant! :)

 
At 1:27 PM, Blogger Kari said...

Love your list. Go for it!!!

 

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