Welcome to this month's edition of Adventurous Life!
In this issue:
I welcome your thoughts, feedback & suggestions for stories.
Please don't hesitate to contact me or swing by www.judywolf.com to see what's new.
Pass this newsletter along to a friend!
You Can -- and Do -- Make a Difference
I live in a small town and work in a home office, so -- perhaps not surprisingly -- I sometimes feel a bit cut off from the world. I read the news, and feel helpless to do anything about it. I write letters to my representatives in Congress, and get back form-letter responses that have nothing to do with what I've expressed as my opinion. It's easy to feel like no one's listening.
This is especially true because I returned so recently from traveling the world, seeing how the U.S. was viewed from abroad, and recognizing again and again how very privileged my day-to-day lifestyle is compared to most of the world. The inequality, poverty, and remnants of violence I saw (and continue to see) enrage me daily. Memories of the people I met make me want to do something about it.
But I am one small person. What can I do?
A few months ago, I called up my local association for the blind and volunteered to read. I was connected with a spunky 93-year-old woman who lives down the street from me and has quickly become one of my favorite people.
Two weeks ago, I asked the student who runs the Womyn's Center at a nearby college if she needed help arranging their bus transportation to the October 26 Anti-War March in Washington, D.C., and her grateful expression made the hours of phone calls worth every precious second. As if that weren't enough, the energy of being surrounded by over 100,000 people united by a common goal gave enormous meaning to the 33 hours it took to participate.
In both these examples, I am still one small person. In the first, I help one other person. I don't lessen every lonely aged person's isolation...just hers. In the second, I am but one tiny drop in a sea of protest about how our government is conducting itself...but what if none of us had showed up?
I recently ran across a parable that has stuck in my mind as a powerful image:
As a man walks down the shoreline, he sees a woman approaching in the distance. As she gets nearer, he notices that she keeps bending down, picking something up, and throwing it into the surf. As she draws closer still, he can see she is throwing starfish into the ocean.
When they are close enough to speak, the man asks what she is doing. "When the tide goes out, the starfish get caught on the beach," she explains. "I come out here and throw them back in."
"But that's ridiculous!" he lectures. "There are thousands and thousands. You cannot make a difference."
The woman flips another starfish into the water and smiles. "I made a difference to that one."
Want to Get Passionate About Something?
Doing research for an article I was writing this month, I ran across an AARP Modern Maturity article with a fabulous sidebar called "50 Things to Be Passionate About (and the One Web Site That Will Get You Hooked on Each...)." Go check it out, then have an adventure and let me know about it!
Going Virtual: Home Sweet Home...Office
This is the third of a multi-part series on Going Virtual. If you've ever thought about joining the thousands of people who've made working from home part of their daily lives, these articles will guide you through some of the technology, paradigm shifts, and practical considerations that can make it possible in your own life.
So you’ve decided to work from home? Congratulations! You’ve got a fun and creative challenge ahead of you: designing your perfect home office. This article will take you through key elements from room choice to equipment and furniture, outlining important considerations to help you make the transition as smooth and painless as possible...
Read the complete article on my web site.
"If
you take too long in deciding what to do with your life, you'll find you've
done it."
- George Bernard Shaw
Top 5 Ideas to Inspire You This Month
- Volunteer your time working with a group you'd never normally interact with
- Do something that scares you
- Go on a yoga or meditation retreat
- Rent a sit-on-top kayak and take a quiet paddle on still water while the leaves fall around you
- Get fabric paint, glitter, and dye, and have your friends over for a t-shirt decorating party (celebrate by going out to dinner in your new duds!)
"Time flies whether you're having fun or not."
- Mary Engelbreit
This
month's 7 Things were submitted by CJ K of
Seattle, WA
- Earthwalk - spend quality time truly experiencing people and cultures and environments, drinking in every encounter as though it were my last with every sense I have
- Learn to develop my own pictures
- Build an indoor fountain and an outdoor, self-circulating, solar waterfall
- Pay a student's tuition or a stranger's rent for a year anonymously
- Write an inspirational book of insights to leave for future generations via poetry, essays, and collages
- Vacation in a treehouse, underwater hotel, or ice hotel - maybe all three!
- Never get stagnant - always be laughing, growing, stretching, learning
What's on YOUR wish list? What would you regret not having done?
This
month! Writing
workshop:
Have you got a story to tell? Autobiography is a powerful and challenging
medium and uses many of the same fundamentals as creative writing. After
all, a good story comes not just from the content, but from how you choose
to write it. "Writing For Your Life" will discuss some
of the techniques used to create compelling fiction, and examine how you
can apply those tools to your own life stories. Whether you're capturing
family history, interested in enhancing your journal writing, or working
on creative nonfiction essays, this course will help hone your skills.
Tuesdays from 7 - 9 p.m., November 5, 12, 19 at the Kirkland Arts Center in Clinton, New York. To register, call 315-853-8871.
About the author:
Judy Wolf is a world traveler, freelance writer, speaker, and whitewater kayak instructor. She's taken numerous, extended solo journeys around the world, traveling by foot, bus, jeep, camel, truck, boat, train, plane, elephant, and bicycle to over 30 countries on five continents. She currently lives in upstate New York with her husband and border collie, where she's working on a book-length travel narrative about her most recent adventures…that is, when she's not plunging off waterfalls or entertaining the dog.
Learn more at www.judywolf.com.
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Copyright © 2002 Judy Wolf
