March 24-A, 2023

**Lower Falls 04/25/2007 Oil Paint Rendered — Hanging Rock State Park, North Carolina**

I think we can't live our life--
the life that is uniquely ours to live--
showcasing our original nature
and innate virtues/specialties,
while living like life 
is being lived around us.

I think we have to draw a frame
around ourselves,
set ourselves apart,
listen to our own body,
heart, 
soul,
self.
Tune into ourselves,
and live from inner to outer,
doing it the way we would do it,
not the way it is being done
by "everybody."

What would you wear
if the people you hang with
did not select your clothes for you?
What would you eat
if they did not select your menu choices?
What movies would you watch?
Would you watch TV at all?
Etc. and so forth
up and down your life.

How much of you is you,
and how much is somebody else?

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Published by jimwdollar

I'm retired, and still finding my way--but now, I don't have to pretend that I know what I'm doing. I retired after 40.5 years as a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, serving churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. I graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. My wife, Judy, and I have three daughters and five granddaughters within about twenty minutes from where we live--and are enjoying our retirement as much as we have ever enjoyed anything. View more posts