The Good Life - 07/25/2023 - Reexamining our plans
Emily is back from Japan, and she brought big news that she will return to Japan to live after she graduates university next spring. She even has a good job waiting in Tokyo, and ideas about where in the Tokyo suburbs near her friends she might live, being quite excited and eager to begin her young, independent adult life. That’s great. The best news ever! And all of this will happen in late spring or early summer, 2024; when both Yumiko and Emily will depart America, leaving me behind with our two little dogs, which was part of the plan all along.
But now, we need to rethink our plan, as I had previously determined to remain in America until the end of 2024 for two reasons: first, in order to tie up loose ends, and second, to make sure Emily was safe and settled in the great metropolis of Los Angeles before mom and dad retreat away to the countryside in Japan. But now, I don’t need to stay, as Emily is leaving too—coming with us, in fact! What then, should I do? Should I change my plans and go back to Japan in the spring or early summer along with my wife and daughter? Or should I stick with the big plan and leave at the end of 2024?
I still think I’ll stay. And I think this is a good idea for a couple of reasons: First, our lease in Huntington Beach isn’t up until the end of the year (though I could technically get out sooner). Second, I told everyone at work that I’d stay until the end of 2024, and I like to keep my word (though really, I’ll quite soon be forgotten at work after I leave, as I know that I am not nearly as necessary there as I sometimes like to believe). So, neither of the above reasons is very good on their own. But, here’s a good reason: If I stay, then I can keep our gainful American life chugging ahead full steam while Yumiko works to start our new life in Japan, with me then only coming over only after Yumiko has first bought us a car, secured us a home, and got everything in Japan settled and ready—and THEN I can pull the big trigger here and cut the cord which unravels my job, our connections and livelihood and everything we’ve built here in the USA over the last decade. Yeah, THAT sounds like a good reason for me to stay behind and wait; namely, in order to keep a plan B circumstance of support and (if necessary) retreat going until our life in Japan is truly ready to be lived in. So yeah, I think I’ll stay behind here even after both Yumiko and Emily are gone.
So, it looks like I’ll once again live alone in America, just like before; though this time I’ll have our two little dogs to keep me company as I slowly ramp down everything rather than up like I did ten years back. I’ll stay and wait patiently until Yumiko gives me the signal and all clear that it’s finally safe to cut our America ties and come. And then I’ll go, me and the dogs, all in good and due time, everything in its decided season, and in attempted accord with due consideration and our best efforts at sound reason. t
#GoingAlone #PrincipleOfReason
The Good Life Meditation is my daily recitation and reminder of personal objectives and principles used in pursuit of a purposeful life in spite of a universe of seeming indifference. Learn more about The Good Life at my website GoingAlone.org or by reading my book Going Alone. And visit our Discord at: https://lnkd.in/gFgfGmY6
OBJECTIVES: 1. Be Always Ready to Die 2. Make Good Use of Time and Resources 3. Develop Good and Sound Life Principles 4. Cultivate Good Emotional Reactions 5. Perform Good Actions 6. Recognize True Limits and Opportunity 7. One Thing Slowly
PRINCIPLES: 1. Principle of War 2. Principle of Reason 3. Homunculus 4. Anchorhold 5. Home of Good and Evil 6. Principle of Purpose 7. Atomic Principle 8. Principle of Nature 9. The Pirate Ride 10. Principle of Maturity 11. Social Principle
12. Principle of Family 13. Public Speaking 14. Temperance 15. Life Will Not Go Well 16. The Horror Show 17. That Which Must Be Borne 18. The Feast of Offal 19. Distraction 20. Agency and The Great Indifference 21. The Best Seat in the House 22. The Restless Man 23. The Path of Wildness 24. The Great Life Adventure 25. The Risk of Avoiding Risk 26. Sin and Damnation 27. Complete Oblivion 28. The Season of Philosophy
29. Scriptwriting 30. Bullseye Aim 31. The Uphill Climb 32. Arena and Utility 33. Nothing IS enough 34. The Principle of Fun
#Stoic #Stoicism #StoicPhilosophy
My name is Kurt Bell.
You can learn more about The Good Life in my book Going Alone.
Be safe... But not too safe.