Finally moving my future post out of the top position, and for what? I don't really have a lot to say. Having said that, I'll try to say nothing in a way that is at least mildly entertaining.
But what specific brand of nothing to talk about, and why? I could dole out some of the wisdom I've learned over the years that everyday events remind me of. Sometimes you have to stop working toward one goal for a while to do better in another, and eventually in your original goal, as Solitaire reminded me. Or maybe the fact that sometimes it's better to not retain full control of a situation, and things will work themselves out with much less effort on your part, as toilet paper continually reminds me.
I don't think I want to elaborate on that one. In fact, maybe these pearls of wisdom aren't such a good idea right now. Instead, I'll go back to my old standby: Rambling in a barely-coherent fashion about things that may or may not be relevant to anything.
A lot of my experiences in the last month or so have reminded me of a common area of thought for me, which I'm pretty sure I've mentioned in some detail before: goals and goal-oriented behavior. A goal is something that - to those with the goal, at least - is worth achieving for its own sake. (At least, that's the way it starts.) Of course, sometimes core goals can be obscure and either hard to measure or hard to work toward on their own. To that end, those so driven may devise a number of subgoals that will allow them to achieve their original goal.
This is all well and good, but eventually, especially in the case of a mid-to-long-term goal, achieving the subgoals may work against achieving one's original goal. Getting into politics to make your friends' lives better stops working toward that core goal when you have to sell your friends out to make it up another rung. Working hard for money so you can be financially secure/independent so you can be happy stops working when your job breaks you down.
Of course, goals can change (and sometimes have to, by necessity). Maybe power or wealth has become more important than one's friends, or one's self.* That's why it's important on occasion to look back at what one has done and see if one is still working toward one's original goals, or if one has new goals that can be achieved without spilling piping hot gravy on myself.**
As for myself, I don't know what I'm doing. My original, core goals are only barely more elaborate than they were a year or three ago. The subgoals have changed several times, but I still feel like they're in line with my real goals. As with most of my experiences, I think I'm in an early phase (even now) that takes a long time and moves slowly. Once I am out of this phase - probably around May of this year - I'll be able to move on to the next phase and reevaluate just what the hell I'm doing all over again.
Assuming I am still free and sentient, of course. But without that, none of my other considerations would have meaning. I was thinking about having a part about mind-body duality here, but I'll save that for another day.
*I didn't mean for that to rhyme, but I have a stream of consciousness going (and a class at 9:00) so I'm not changing it.
**That's a joke, son. (Incidentally, I avoid gravy anyway.)
