I've decided on a different focus for this blog. The goal of transitioning from "rags to riches" is no longer the issue it was when I began. The reason is because I've redefined the meaning of both. "Rags" now means a definition of self as an inactive agent upon whom forces operate while "riches" means the ability to find joy and happiness wherever I choose to see and experience it. The operative word here is "choice." Although my financial situation has improved in the years since I started this "life journey," the improvement is just enough to pay my monthly bills with a little left over for a few new books or a few new tops from Target—hardly what anyone would call "riches." But then, if one is honest, "things" and happiness have little in common, as the lives of many celebrities reveal all too well. I wrote an aphorism years back and am only beginning to realize its true meaning:
"Wise is the person who seeks not new vistas to behold, but new eyes with which to view the familiar."
Yes, I know some French philosopher said essentially the same thing, but I never read it and chuckled once I came across it. Great minds and all that.
On the news front, I'm now weeks away from my doctorate. My dissertation is finished and in the hands of my committee for review. I'm now experiencing separation anxiety. School provides a sweet sense of security that the "real world" does not. As a result, I'm ambivalent about the prospect of graduating—especially since I have no clear plans or career path, although I know what I'd like to do: write and teach online. But everything I read about doing that indicates lots and lots of competition and effort. Not a terribly appealing prospect.
Fortunately, one of the most valuable contributions my mentor has made is the introduction to the Law of Attraction in the form of Esther and Jerry Hick's book, Ask and It Is Given. From that I went on to some of their CDs, the film, The Secret, and other works. It's been a revelation and a godsend. It also works. In fact, I can even provide a neurological explanation of why it works. But I won't. Maybe later in a journal article (assuming I become sufficiently "journal literate").
Something Oprah said in an interview with Larry King hit home. She said that her greatest fear was that she wouldn't contribute enough. And she meant it. It's the same fear I have. My "riches" have evolved into contributions. Can I create enough of them, given my unique capabilities and makeup? That remains to be seen.
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