shaunmdaniel

is adapting to drier, hotter life in Prineville



I'm doing 43 things
 

shaunmdaniel's Life List

  1. 1. Find a balance between the things I want to do and the things I need to do
    1 cheer
    2,372 people
  2. 2. learn the tango
    4 cheers
    59 people
  3. 3. roast my own coffee
    1 cheer
    49 people
  4. 4. decrease my carbon emissions
    2 entries . 1 cheer
    1 person
  5. 5. laugh along with my wife
    5 cheers
    1 person
  6. 6. be more spontaneous
    1,189 people
  7. 7. live passionately
    1 cheer
    5,583 people
  8. 8. create a cooperative community
    3 cheers
    1 person
  9. 9. do yoga regularly
    437 people
  10. 10. travel to Greece
    1 cheer
    443 people
  11. 11. travel abroad again
    5 people
  12. 12. paint on canvas
    1 cheer
    31 people
  13. 13. have my poetry published
    50 people
  14. 14. write regularly in a journal
    1 cheer
    2 people
  15. 15. have a popular blog
    11 people
  16. 16. have more and deeper conversations with my wife
    1 cheer
    1 person
  17. 17. kiss under the stars
    73 people
  18. 18. have more romance
    1 cheer
    3 people
  19. 19. pay off my student loans
    2,844 people
  20. 20. not worry about money (much) anymore
    1 person
  21. 21. tour the Northwest, playing music in coffeeshops
    2 cheers
    1 person
  22. 22. i wanna rock
    132 people
  23. 23. see Arcade Fire live
    17 people
  24. 24. make an audience cry with a sad song
    1 cheer
    1 person
  25. 25. have an organic farm
    1 cheer
    12 people
  26. 26. open a coffee shop
    1 cheer
    333 people
  27. 27. a graphic design portfolio
    1 person
  28. 28. write a successful grant proposal
    1 cheer
    2 people
  29. 29. learn CSS, HTML, JavaScript and Flash
    1 cheer
    2 people
  30. 30. Save money
    14,724 people
  31. 31. Do Naikan, the Japanese art of self-reflection
    1 person
  32. 32. simplify
    676 people
  33. 33. downshift
    1 entry
    4 people
  34. 34. Do pushups and crunches
    1 person
  35. 35. Practice my Spanish
    43 people
  36. 36. go fishing more
    55 people
  37. 37. start an ecovillage
    22 people
  38. 38. live in the woods
    154 people
  39. 39. Become a freelance writer
    84 people
  40. 40. meet new people
    1 entry
    4,129 people
  41. 41. build a solar oven
    1 cheer
    20 people
  42. 42. host a radio show
    97 people
  43. 43. Learn to drive a clutch
    1 cheer
    1 person

How I did it
How to buy a new car
It took me
2 years
It made me
Good


How to buy a laptop
It took me
1 year
It made me
Pleased


How to be overwhelmed by beauty
It took me
25 years
It made me
Awe-filled


See all "How I Did It" stories...

Recent entries
downshift
Downshifting 4 months ago

My wife and I have been watching Northern Exposure through Netflix. Right now we are on the final season and it has been inspiring to see the character of Joel Fleischman suddenly give up his life as doctor in Cicily to live in a tiny remote fishing village because it fulfills him! There is such a peace that you can see upon him, and I want that!

In any ways I have already begun downshifting, turning my focus inward and away from the rat race which would seem to define success as ever-increasing income, stock holdings, a bigger and bigger house, and an important job. I’m all for life-affirming and self-fulfilling work. I actually think we’re made to labor, do use our hands and minds well. But I don’t think we’re made to be used as cogs in a vast machine, working for someone else’s dream, pushed into economic exile from our homes, friends and families in search of the next job.

I see downshifting as a way of getting back to basics, reuniting with many of the important traditions that we seem now to have all but lost: community, sense of place, rootedness, connection to our food and resources, self-sufficiency, homegrown prosperity, etc.

I’m not a Luddite (why then would I be on 43 things?!), but I do believe that technology is a tool, that it should be used when to our true benefit (as in freeing us up to do more worthwhile things, like spending time with family) and discarded when not (when it rips us away from family and keeps us working the same or longer hours at lower wages).

I take comfort in knowing that there is an entire tradition and historical precedent for what I am seeking, and that there is an entire generation of people out there in the cities and hamlets that are seeking the same.

May we find it and may we find each other to provide support and encouragement. Though the road may be long, I don’t mind sauntering along it to get to my destination.



meet new people
Life in a new town 4 months ago

Having moved to Prineville about 2 months ago and working from home, I haven’t yet had a chance to meet many people. Also, being young and not too long out of college while living in a rural area don’t seem too common of a thing. Nonetheless, I’d like to meet some people who are roughly in my age demographic, who I can connect with and call new friends. Otherwise it gets kind of lonely!



give more encouragement
Encouraging words 11 months ago

I know that I thrive on encouragement, so it has felt good to be able to give as much back to others. In my job as a community organizer I have the opportunity to work closely with community members, many of whom lack the confidence to know their true potential to be leaders and influential actors in shaping their own lives and communities. But it is my fortunate duty to gently nudge and encourage them to realize that potential and to grow as individuals. It’s been great fun, and indeed humbling, to see that transformation taking place. It’s changed me, I’d say…



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