Just a selfie on the couch. I hate selfies, and I'm smiling because of the delicousness of the irony of having to smile while doing something you don't like. So, its actually honest!
For pretty much my entire adult life, I have been an activist, non-profit organization employee, and/or lived in intentional community. These days I build homes with volunteers for a famous non-profit organization (yeah, that one), living alone in a semi-rural area near a progressive city. I live a comfortable modern life, but try to minimize my environmental footprint on many fronts.
I am thoughtful, affectionate, playful, a kid at heart in the body of a healthy man who is in shape from doing physical work. I might have a beer occasionally in a social setting, but prefer sobriety not out of dogma or value judgment; I just prefer my natural consciousness.
I believe that all life on earth is entwined, mostly in ways we are not conscious of, and that our actions have consequences that ripple out into infinity. We give attention to our connections with our loved ones the most, and to our communities and our world to varying degrees. I pay a lot of attention to the world outside of my personal life.
The people closest to me appreciate this about me, even if they don't feel exactly the same way, and that's important. My emotional universe includes everyone I have ever loved. Relationships transition, but connection remains.
I am monogamous, and am hoping to find the partner where we both just absolutely adore each other and wish to spend the rest of this life exploring our unique and wonderful connection. As someone who is both very affectionate and passionate, there are major aspects of my life that are largely unexpressed. I find myself craving feeling that deep level of bond that comes along only so rarely.
I see this moment in my life as potentially transitional. There have been others over the years, where I have found myself within a year living in a new place, doing something I had not anticipated, making new friends. Each time it has happened it's been jarring, but also led to growth and more richness. I don't know that this will happen, let's just say I am open to it and it would be like the visit of an old friend.
I've lived a very unconventional life, way more adventure and change than most white middle class guys. Not travel adventure, real adventure. I really could write a memoir, and it would be unique if I did. You can ask questions about that if you'd like, there's nothing dark or that needs to be hidden. We live in a society that largely eschews rites of passage, but I've had quite a few.
Most of the change in my life has been the result of choices I have made, but were more of a response to situations, based on my own set of ethics and desires for this planet and her people, than the result of a goal oriented plan.
Currently, I am living very comfortably, doing work I respect and find fun and challenging with people I like and admire. I live with some sense of unease about the disconnect between the ease of my own situation, coupled with the disconnect of what we are doing to the environment, and how people are generally treated in the world. The president to me is an appalling human being. I am glad that we, those who care, have worked hard and achieved a political change of leadership at the national level. Now we have to keep after them to do the right things. And preserve access to voting and political power to those who's votes are suppressed. I have activist work to do.
Feeling this way, and also feeling like my life is in potential flux, is interesting and maybe even a little exciting.
Its also interesting to live in a town (more like an area) with a biblical name. And to have spent the last two decades working for Christian based organizations. Shhh...they haven't noticed!!!
I was a vegetarian for many years, now omnivorous. I made tofu professionally, and now sin for my atonement at a grill! This was at a large BBQ event we did to honor our best ongoing Habitat volunteers. I didn't have to wear the uniform shirt, ha!
The sign I made for the first time the Nazis marched in Charlottesville. The second time, August 12, 2017, they rioted and killed someone. I was working that day, and by the time I could get over, the police had cordoned off the entire downtown. I imagine it might have been something like a pogrom that my grandparents might have experienced in Russia, just less organized.
I got muscles. From work, not working out. I hated gym when I was a kid, got bullied for being a runt and a bad athlete. Now most of those jerks are fat and I'm more solidly in my body in a good way than I ever have been. But my heart beats the loping off beat of a nerd!
Because the Orange Wonder said, "Bring me the head of General Qasem Soleimani!" And it was so. Then Iran freaked out, shot down a civilian plane, bombed our airbase in iraq, got Iraq to kick our military out (actually maybe a good thing), but its all cool with Trump so we don't talk about impeachment for a week. That's a long term victory for our president. So, I went to a demo. Life in 2020