Cybercabin Diary--Themes Outline
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[3] Simple, authentic living is the best way
"'But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good.'"
(Jonah 2:9, NIV)
[3.1] Being satisfied with who one is and what one has
[3.1.1] Discerning essential and sufficient need and finding gratitude in meeting it
[3.1.1.1] True needs are better appreciated when divested of frivolous wants and pointless pursuit
[3.1.1.1.1] Greater attention to a smaller set of concerns can make them easier to appreciate
5 January 1998 --
A life with limits and restraint
24 October 1998 --
Slowing down and taking a closer look
26 April 1999 --
Finally able to go outside
7 February 2000 --
Accepting the proper burden
11 October 2001 --
Towards the minimal load
27 July 2002 --
A search for the center
[3.1.1.1.2] It is a difficult job sometimes to determine and appreciate what is truly "needed"
[3.1.1.1.2.1] The extent of a need and that which satisfies vary according to situation and context
[3.1.1.1.2.1.1] When these governing factors are fully accepted, the job of compliance is simplified
18 September 1999 --
The anticipation of change
16 April 2000 --
The makings of further growth
9 December 2000 --
Aware of the true landscape
21 January 2001 --
The active efforts continue
28 July 2001 --
Responding to the unavoidable
5 December 2001 --
It's all good enough
10 March 2002 --
Attending to further necessities
16 December 2002 --
The problem of satisfaction
[3.1.1.1.2.1.2] Civilized life and its complexity impose a good many arbitrary, conflicting and ill-defined demands
3 October 1997 --
The fulfillment first of true need
14 May 2000 --
Many options are open
27 September 2000 --
An impression, warm and bright
13 February 2001 --
A brief visit to the same old place
13 August 2001 --
The necessity of the lesser
18 December 2001 --
Adjustments in my cover
12 January 2003 --
Called to duty, before the fire
22 September 2003 --
The necessity of exposure
[3.1.1.1.2.2] Needs are often observed and satisfied indirectly, and not through explicit pursuit
5 January 1999 --
A most personal evening's visitation
15 October 1999 --
Weighing the evidence
10 July 2000 --
The standard schedule unfolds
7 September 2000 --
Problems and their solution
1 January 2001 --
A position of questionable authority
15 April 2001 --
Signs of a worthwhile wait
25 August 2001 --
Not sure of what's next
2 December 2001 --
The call to sufficiency
29 December 2002 --
In pursuit of what is high
3 February 2003 --
The truth of good and bad
28 February 2003 --
Waiting out my passage
[3.1.1.2] Many of life's essentials are taken for granted because they come too easily
17 August 1997 --
Appreciation of simple sufficiency
19 March 1998 --
Seeking out the basics
5 February 1999 --
Moving along into another day
17 February 1999 --
Waiting for joy's return
[3.1.2] Becoming settled into a realistic plan of long-term priority and commitment
[3.1.2.1] Unwavering perseverance through hard times in a single place or situation
[3.1.2.1.1] Stability and constancy are an edifying and reassuring factor in any life
3 September 1997 --
Settled in this single place
24 November 1997 --
Commitment to a single place and way
15 June 2000 --
Enjoying a moment's rest
2 August 2000 --
The forward motion continues
1 December 2000 --
Settling in for some weather
10 December 2001 --
Settling in for the arrival
30 May 2002 --
The necessity of the new approach
26 August 2002 --
A properly bestowed rest
[3.1.2.1.2] Suffering is so unavoidable that it is easier to endure when accepted in a larger scheme
11 March 1999 --
Staying put for the moment
19 October 1999 --
Life in the cold
29 July 2000 --
The inevitablity of a limited life
9 January 2001 --
Sufficiently supplementing my reality
16 March 2001 --
No choice but to endure
24 November 2001 --
The happiness I hope for
31 March 2003 --
Life within the light
[3.1.2.1.3] A view towards better times to come makes the hard times livable
1 January 1999 --
Progressing through emptiness
29 January 1999 --
Continued life in the barren stillness
26 August 1999 --
Not much else to do tonight
13 December 2000 --
Asking questions of the silence
31 March 2001 --
Enduring the inevitable journey
21 May 2001 --
A day for hanging on
11 February 2002 --
A fair vision on a cold day
[3.1.2.2] Making choices that further the pursuit of one's optimal mission in life
[3.1.2.2.1] Indeed, much more of the choice is mine than appearances suggest
[3.1.2.2.1.1] Reaching maturity establishes a new endowment of and approach to personal freedom
24 June 1998 --
The rules of freedom
22 November 1999 --
The day's activities begin
6 August 2000 --
A permissible revision of plans
5 February 2001 --
A unified yet diverse progression
2 June 2001 --
Life under my own authority
21 September 2001 --
Artistry from predictability
28 November 2001 --
Making ready for the night
20 January 2002 --
Possession despite loss
[3.1.2.2.1.2] This freedom, however, can often be a wearisome burden, filled with painful indecision and doubt
3 September 1999 --
Going over my plans
25 January 2000 --
A time for holding out
18 August 2000 --
A creation that will endure
1 May 2001 --
A proper yet unseen way
9 August 2001 --
Returning to a basic existence
31 December 2001 --
I've done enough for today
25 January 2003 --
The question of what is next
29 April 2003 --
The mastery of the worker
31 August 2003 --
Scanning about, at the root
2 October 2003 --
Nowhere, really, to go
[3.1.2.2.1.3] Undermining the exercise of one's free will are false illusions of duty and a yearning to believe in external control
19 June 1999 --
Another precious ration of free time
29 February 2000 --
A hint of what's ahead
26 July 2000 --
Preparing for another day
1 October 2000 --
The promise of probability
4 April 2001 --
The plot begins to emerge
17 August 2001 --
An exercise of privilege
25 March 2002 --
The question of occupation
21 July 2002 --
The fullness expected of me
19 January 2003 --
A time of partial darkness
[3.1.2.2.2] Typical in such choices are cooperative efforts with others; embracing the greater overall good
2 February 1998 --
Held in place for the moment
26 May 1999 --
Straining to hear my next assignment
18 July 1999 --
Searching for proper appreciation
20 August 1999 --
Taking another "time out"
29 October 2000 --
In need of a burden that is light
8 April 2001 --
All is well, under the sun
22 June 2001 --
Participating in this day
13 September 2001 --
A division to be respected
17 March 2003 --
Those necessary duties
[3.2] Living with problems that can be directly seen; straightforward action with minimal hesitation
30 August 1997 --
Choosing a different set of obstacles
23 October 1997 --
The increasing specialization of labor
5 November 1997 --
The judicious use of technology
7 March 1998 --
Striving for simple joys
23 March 1998 --
The real life I did not choose
19 December 1998 --
Meeting the indisputable basics
6 April 1999 --
Limiting the scope of my efforts
19 February 2002 --
A passage that is guaranteed
[3.3] Finding beauty and authenticity in natural surroundings and events
[3.3.1] Sensory impressions obtained in the wild are themselves refreshing
8 December 1997 --
The uniform colors of desolation
8 April 1998 --
The sense of spring
15 May 1998 --
Out in the sun
3 December 1998 --
A full moon tonight
18 March 1999 --
A steady wind has appeared
30 March 1999 --
Returning upstream to camp
18 June 2001 --
Progressing into the night
11 May 2002 --
The many sounds of the earth
[3.3.2] Spending time outside of human constructs promotes an awareness of an intriniscally "correct" way
[3.3.2.1] Life in the wild suggests a vibrancy that is well applied to the furtherance of often-dulled city living
15 March 1998 --
A new season begins to show
20 February 1999 --
The terrain is slowly illuminated
10 April 1999 --
Standing in the stillness for now
5 May 2001 --
Securely held in place
18 April 2002 --
The eminence that is life
18 April 2003 --
A participant in the flow
[3.3.2.2] Experience of the natural world and its offerings is often frustrated by the demands of human expediency
17 November 1997 --
Stepping out to appreciate the morning
27 March 1998 --
Replenishing my supply
5 November 1998 --
Settling into a slower day
24 March 2000 --
Adrift in the ways of habit
8 March 2001 --
A gradual yet certain progress
30 June 2001 --
A return to proper basics
14 April 2002 --
A man in basic condition
1 May 2002 --
A peculiar position
[3.4] Attending to one matter at a time, in its proper time, within the overall "big picture"
[3.4.1] Prospective tasks and courses of action must adhere to certain standards of appropriateness and timeliness
[3.4.1.1] There is difficulty sometimes in discerning and accepting what is "right"
[3.4.1.1.1] When correct and proper judgment prevails, a more efficient and satisfying outcome will result
20 April 1998 --
This is not the time
13 December 1999 --
Routine life for another day
26 May 2000 --
A satisfying insignificance
5 December 2000 --
Responding to a recurrent scene
27 March 2001 --
The same old light, seen anew
19 October 2001 --
Warm and assuredly right
8 November 2001 --
A fabrication of certain value
2 April 2002 --
Towards the favored pose
14 June 2002 --
Evening's gradual approach
19 September 2002 --
The mostly-hidden path
24 March 2003 --
The immutable blessing
16 May 2003 --
In search of the center
19 April 2004 --
Awhile in the watershed
[3.4.1.1.2] A proper balance must be reached between what one wills and what one accepts
3 March 1998 --
Desolation, yet with hope
25 July 1999 --
Facing the truth of pain
1 April 2000 --
Living out another day
22 July 2000 --
Life itself can be enough
9 February 2001 --
A necessarily lesser day
29 September 2001 --
A calculated hesitation
22 March 2002 --
Endeavoring to let go
10 June 2004 --
A conscious effort
[3.4.1.2] When life is sufficiently simplified, the right actions become more evident
6 February 1998 --
All things coming to pass
18 August 1998 --
Trying to let go
13 January 1999 --
Trying to find an answer
16 January 2000 --
Further consideration of myself
27 April 2001 --
Towards the optimal objective
7 October 2001 --
That central awareness
23 December 2001 --
An opportunity for peace
15 February 2002 --
Towards the basic way
2 March 2002 --
Not much I can really do
5 July 2002 --
Not expecting a lot today
[3.4.2] The fullest attention and devotion should be given to the present, at-hand concern
[3.4.2.1] Excessive and unnecessary distraction come from considerations outside the present situation
[3.4.2.1.1] This is a problem characteristic of adult urban priorities and overload
1 January 1998 --
Kept inside by the cold and snow
17 October 1998 --
Narrowing the focus of attention
4 March 2000 --
A truth beyond appearances
13 January 2001 --
Taking time, just to live
24 July 2001 --
My proper and settled scene
4 November 2001 --
The hard duty of finding rest
14 March 2002 --
The day and its invitation
6 May 2002 --
In search of the proper level
[3.4.2.1.2] The mind has an inaccurate way of seeing endless troubles and implications in those concerns
29 April 1998 --
Right in front of my face
27 February 1999 --
Choosing what to do next
19 November 1999 --
Relatively content for now
2 September 2001 --
Along the twisted path
6 April 2004 --
An appearance of mud
[3.4.2.2] The actual quantity of exertion needed at any given point in time is often less than it appears
[3.4.2.2.1] Unnecessarily fragmented attention keeps the "better" occupations from receiving their due
7 September 1997 --
Undivided attention to the task at hand
3 June 2000 --
A good place to have a seat
10 August 2000 --
Waiting for a chance to rest
12 May 2001 --
Living under reduced conditions
20 May 2002 --
To enter the mighty current
14 July 2002 --
Substantially at rest amid all that is
[3.4.2.2.2] Inherent, indeed, in one's personal definition is a relatively small set of core requirements
2 July 1998 --
Adjusting my expectations
22 September 1998 --
Maintaining control over what I can
15 September 1999 --
Continuing with basic duties
7 November 2000 --
Escaping in moderation
12 January 2002 --
My careful separation
4 June 2002 --
Illusions of expectation
10 July 2002 --
Elevated sufficiently