TWO LISTS

Every action needs an inspiration and underlying this action the inspiration appears to be tiredness. I really don’t like to admit that I’m tired but the truth is that I am. Although I’ve always been blessed with a manic amount of energy—ask anyone, I don’t stop working until I drop—there are a lot of things I no longer want to do.

Here's that list:
1. I no longer want a full-time job.
2. I no longer want to own a house in Westport, Connecticut.
3. I no longer want to own a luxury car. As a matter of fact when I began working in the travel business I owned a pick up truck, which was an oddity in a parking lot full of sedans. My older son thinks my downfall coincided with the sale of that truck. I have to agree with him. Once again I want to own pick up truck—a Ford F150-dark green I think, maybe even with a diesel engine. Have you ever heard the big Ford 250 diesel? It has a deep-throated sound almost better than a Harley!
4. I want no responsibility…or as little as possible.
5. I want no schedule at all. Just want to begin each day breakfast and a walk and see what comes after that. This means no appointment book. A calendar, which shows Christmas, New Years and the family birthdays—that’s about it.

And then there are the things I do want to do.
1. I want to grow my own food. I want to have a farm—not a huge commercial deal, just one big enough to feed the family.
2. I want to walk a lot.
3. I want to swim a lot. There’s a swimming hole cut into the Eel River part of my in-law’s ranch that is the perfect size for swimming laps. It even has a rope swing that makes you feel like a kid again when you’re on it. And there’s a raft to sun yourself on.
4. I want to go slow. Slow enough to enjoy fishing.
5. I want to be a Buddhist without being called one, just so there is no pressure to be that or anything else. I don’t want the pressure of a label, otherwise I might as well go back to being a Creative Director.
6. I want very, very few clothes. Just the ones I need for the day and one other change would be enough. I don’t need to own a suit. A sport jacket is enough. No ties—not a single one. And no dress shoes. Just a pair for hiking, some boots for fishing and climbing.
7. The only other possessions I want are expendable things, like cookware and plates to eat off of and maybe a tent, camping stove and a sleeping bag for when I don’t want to sleep in a bed.
8. I want to build my own house. The process of building is what interests me as much as living in the result. But the result should be simple, Buddhist if that is a word you can apply to a house. I’ve been sketching my house for years, more than twenty. But I think its location on the planet is about as important as the house itself. It's going to be somewhere out west.