A Guide for Living

1. Introduction

I should be continually striving to fulfill the potential of my humanity (in general) and my particular gifts (in particular), grounded in Christianity. "... 'Live up to the light thee hast and more will be granted thee'. ... [so] I strove to lead a more Christian life, in unison with what I knew to be right ..." Caroline Fox, 26.04 in QF&P

Accepting that I will fail again, while trying to fail better, what follows are some specific actions or goals, which I may use "as an aid to self-discipline" [BPD] if I take the above seriously.

2. Specifics

• Start most days with some quiet time, prayer for the day ahead, what opportunities/risks it may offer for doing good/falling short. End most days with some form of [Ignatian] Examen
• Apologise less, and only when it's genuine, and not a dishonest attempt to look good/earn brownie points.
• Enumerate specific concrete goals/projects
  • For those already underway, describe/identify KPIs/criteria for declaring victory and/or pulling out
    • CCrawl research paper
    • Grant proposal
    • PDF project
    • CDX project
    • WebArch book
    • Move south
  • For candidates, prioritise
    • CCrawl whitepaper
    • Middle Way project
    • Autobiography
    • Group of N
  [ref. BPD "[C]omplete all tasks I take on and only take on those I truly feel I can carry out. To finish current major projects before I embark on new ones"]
• Start a House Group dedicated to Good Old Fashioned (Christian) Quakerism [ref. BPD "[M]ake a commitment to discuss my faith and the faith of others each week"; "[A]ttempt to find others who would want to participate in mutual guidance"; "[T]hink about the future of Quakerism"]
• Start having people in for lunch (Bonnie?) or dinner
• Ask Mark if we can start having lunch every week or two
• Look for a way to volunteer in a helping capacity Samaritains? Google [volunteer counselling opportunities edinburgh] suggests there are _lots_ of opportunities Reconsider my unwillingness to serve as an Overseer
• Anger management: try harder to own the weaknesses that fuel my aggressive responses
  • To Catharine
  • To (motor)cyclists
• Declutter, including reclassifying much long-held-on-to as clutter. [ref. AW "[Release] many possessions and attachments ... no longer hoard newspapers/cuttings and printed matter generally.]
• Practice explicit humility and thanksgiving, giving thanks for "the comforts [I] enjoy and the responsibilities [my] affluence entails" [BPD] and the blessings of my family.

• Aim for honesty and integrity, not forgetting the that tact is not dishonesty: "Is it true, is it kind, is it necessary, is it helpful?" and "Does this build community?"

  Things to document/confess/seek to redress, or lay to rest?

  • Russian History
  • Early years of marriage
  • Timanous

• Try not to dismiss suggestions/opportunities out-of-hand.