Today is the
last day of my 50s, so I’ve been reflecting on this decade, setting intentions,
and cultivating hopes for the next one. What
happens in my 60s is really up to me. I’m in exquisite health, have a solid
spiritual foundation, harmonious relationships, meaningful work, sufficient
money and material objects, a strong desire to be a world traveler rather than
tourist. I turn 60 in good company, not
only all the others from Delphi’s class of ’76, but famous people who look
pretty good join me: Madonna, Sharon Stone, Angela Bassett, Michelle Pfeiffer,
Annette Benning, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins to name a few.
A NEW
CALLING
I’ve had a
new career this past decade and just celebrated 10 years working as a spiritual
director for Hazelden, the premiere organization in the world (in my opinion)
for treating addiction to alcohol and other drugs. I have a job that is never
dull, requires creativity and spiritual fitness, and use my intelligence,
intuition, and experience to help others find a power greater than themselves
that also resides in their being. It’s a daily privilege and challenge to make
spirituality as practical as I can.
A
DISAPPOINTMENT
My writing
this past decade has been more off than on. It’s been 22 years since my book Toward a Feminist Rhetoric was
published, and in the interim I’ve gotten another degree, fallen in love and
married, moved a number of times, built a beautiful lake cabin, read hundreds
of books and journaled thousands of pages. I’ve just not published much other
than a couple essays in Presence. This
blog came to be several years ago as a toe in the publishing waters.
A DREAM
In the
coming decade I want to fulfill this persistent dream of publishing a book that
inspires, educates, amuses, and encourages others interested in living free
from addiction. I’ve written so much already that can be collected, revised,
and expanded. May the “wanting machine” inside me quiet enough to savor the
space to write rather than fill it with the next purchase or project.
