What Are Your Goals and Accomplishments?

I've realized I've been at an imbalance. I come here most every day for advice on all sorts of problems and dilemmas stemming from my "situation". And while this is a great way to share these concerns and garner advice, hope and inspiration, I've realized I've been dwelling so much on the negativity in my life that it's begun to bring me back down again.

You all see little more than eachother's dark past. I think that may go for a lot of individuals here. We share our problems, our darkest secrets, take the advice and go.

So I figured, why not learn about the your other side(s)?

What do people like about you?

What goals have you accomplished so far in life, and what goals are you still in pursuit of?

What makes you happy?

Anomalous wrote:I've realized I've been at an imbalance. I come here most every day for advice on all sorts of problems and dilemmas stemming from my "situation". And while this is a great way to share these concerns and garner advice, hope and inspiration, I've realized I've been dwelling so much on the negativity in my life that it's begun to bring me back down again.

You all see little more than eachother's dark past. I think that may go for a lot of individuals here. We share our problems, our darkest secrets, take the advice and go.

So I figured, why not learn about the your other side(s)?

What do people like about you?

What goals have you accomplished so far in life, and what goals are you still in pursuit of?

What makes you happy?

Anomalous,

I sorry you are not feeling better. do you cycle through depression ever so often? I do, and it bites!

I am not quite sure what the "other side" means?


peace,
red

Hi, Red,
"The other side"...translation:
The sunny side of the street...what floats your boat...what makes your day...what gratifies you...
Your life when you are happy...all the aspects of you that are whole and well...your shining spirit...your unwavering band of light...

Kurt Vonnegut:
As for myself: I had come to the conclusion that there was nothing sacred about myself or about any human being, that we were all machines, doomed to collide and collide and collide. For want of anything better to do, we became fans of collisions. Sometimes I wrote well about collision, which meant I was a writing machine in good repair. Sometimes I wrote badly, which meant I was a writing machine in bad repair. I no more harbored sacredness than did a Pontiac, a mouse trap, or a South Bend Lathe.**

I did not expect Rabo Karabekian to rescue me. I had created him, and he was in my opinion a vain and weak and trashy man, no artist at all. But it is Rabo Karabekian who made me the serene Earthling which I am to this day.

Listen:

"What kind of man would turn his daughter into an outboard motor?" he said to Bonnie MacMahon.

Bonnie MacMahon blew up. This was the first time she had blown up since she had come to work in the cocktail lounge. Her voice became as unpleasant as the noise of a bandsaw cutting galvanized tin. It was loud, too. "Oh yeah?" she said. "Oh yeah?"

Everybody froze. Bunny Hoover stopped playing the piano. Nobody wanted to miss a word.

"You don't think much of Mary Alice Miller?" she said. "Well, we don't think much of your painting. I've seen better pictures done by a five-year-old."

Karabekian slid off his barstool so he could face all those enemies standing up. He certainly surprised me. I expected him to retreat in a hail of olives, maraschino cherries and lemon rinds. But he was majestic up there. "listen --" he said so calmly, "I have read the editorial against my painting in your wonderful newspaper. I have read every word of the hate mail you have been thoughtful enough to send to New York."

This embarrassed people some.

"The painting did not exist until I made it," Karabekian went on. "Now that it does exist, nothing would make me happier than to have it reproduced again and again, and vastly improved upon, by all the five-year-olds in town. I would love for your children to find pleasantly and playfully what it took me many angry years to find.

"I now give you my word of honor," he went on, " that the picture your city owns shows everything about life which truly matters, with nothing left out. It is a picture of the awareness of every animal. It is the immaterial core of every animal -- the 'I am' to which all messages are sent. It is all that is alive in any of us -- in a mouse, in a deer, in a cocktail waitress. It is unwavering and pure, no matter what preposterous adventure may befall us. A sacred picture of Saint Anthony alone is one vertical, unwavering band of light. If a cockroach were near him, or a cocktail waitress, the picture would show two such bands of light. Our awareness is all that is alive and maybe sacred in any of us. Everything else about us is dead machinery.

"I have just heard from this cocktail waitress here, this vertical band of light, a story about her husband and an idiot who was about to be executed at Shepherdstown. Very well -- let a five-year-old paint a sacred interpretation of that encounter. Let a five-year-old strip away the idiocy, the bars, the waiting electric chair, the uniform of the guard, the gun of the guard, the bones and the meat of the guard. What is that perfect picture which any five-year-old can paint? Two unwavering bands of light."

Ecstasy bloomed on the barbaric face of Rabo Karabekian. "Citizens of Midland City, I salute you," he said. "You have given a home to a masterpiece!"

-Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast Of Champions

hhmm,

Anomalous,
I will answer but I would like for you to answer your questions too, ok?

What keeps me on the sunny side of the street is my feet.
I stay grounded, I remember myself always and everywhere.

I think on any given day anyone could have clouds in there sky.
You look at them, you seem them and if need do something to move them along so they drift out of your sky.

As long as clouds(problems) are seen and dealt with,they just drift on by. there is never a back up that makes everything all cloudy and maybe start to rain or become a storm. Or something you cant handle, even if you have seen a problem you havent seen before, self-love, respect is the motivation to take on any problems and learn if you need to, grow if you need to. Progression in a positive way, and I try not harbor ill will against anyone.

just my 2 cents
red

Wow, you guys are so abstract. Very, very interesting. I think I'm a little more...direct with my outlook on things.

For me? To answer the question of what makes me happy, since that's what we seem to be rolling on here.

A good conversation with friends, sitting around the living room having more fun talking about movies or videogames than we actually do watching or playing them.

A sunny day: Driving on a sunny day no matter how hot. Just watching people bustle about with their lives. Feeling just...good to be alive. Taking a moment out of that day to go to a park. Feel the shade listen to the breeze. Take off onto the back trails. Think, dream, ponder about what lay ahead of me. Somethin' to strive for...

The little things: Doin' or sayin' those little things to somebody who's havin' a rough day. There's nothin' like brightening the day of somebody you really care about. Just as a reminder, "Hey, you know this, but I'm gonna remind you anyway, I care about you." Could be a short note, could be an iced coffee waiting for them when they get back from workin' all day.

A good laugh: When you start laughing and can't stop. When you try so hard to stifle it because you don't wanna look crazy, so that it builds up even more and you burst out even louder. 'Til you cry. The most frequent I've ever cried is from laughter. And whoever feels self-conscious about those kind of tears?

A family: Biological or not. A group of people who stick with you through thick and thin, make you feel appreciated, ask you for help when they need it. Offer their help when you're too stubborn to ask.

Identity: Knowing who I am at any given time. Knowing what I'm about, knowing how to present myself, knowing exactly how I'm portraying myself to others. Without this. I'm lost. That's why I'm trying to get it back.

Ah, nuts and bolts happiness (not abstract )
Working on an engine and getting it to run great.
Feeling really good in my body because it is fit and strong.
Actually being able to help someone feel better.
The first cup of expresso in the morning.
Getting a bargain.
Sitting on my lookout point overlooking the foothills after my daily hike and feeling the breeze in the trees and hearing the critters rustling about in the brush.
Having my cats sit in my lap with their sleek little bodies pressed against me purring.
Watching weird shows with my husband that he finds on the Internet; stuff like Shameless and Death Note...
Floating around in the pool.
Rain.
Snow.
Spring planting.
Fall harvest.
Exploring the Internet.
A good laugh, especially when my sides ache and I have to roll around on the floor!
There are thousands more....
Edit: Oh, I just read the title of this thread; Goals and Accomplishments!
Accomplishments:
I am physically fit.
I have learned many skills over the years, such as growing things, computer stuff, mechanical repair, ect, and am still learning new things all the time.
My property is paid off and is free and clear.
Goals:
To maintain the above and improve on them.

Man, I wish more people would reply. There's SO many sub-forums in here I can see how many threads get overlooked.

ok, the reason I went abstract is because happiness and goals can be a very personal thing. It was just the side thing that threw me, because my dx's and abuse are NOT a dark side of me in anyway. Never do I feel like I am going back and forth dark and light sides. Now that is clear, I will try and answer more direct:

What makes me happy and/or bring a smile to my face..

Sunrise
Sunset
A warm soft breeze that licks at your skin
Nature's song
Wildflowers
starry nights
Blue Sky
Smokey Mountains,
Sea Shells
Japanese Gardens
zen
Smiling at people and getting a smile back.
Creeks with minnows, crawfish and tadpoles
Small water falls
finding a treasure
seeing my son smile and laugh
the sweet breathe of a baby and the way babies smell.
Geology, being able to read rocks
Astronomy, our solar system, Milky way, Gas giants, nubulae
Archaeology, the history of the culture of the human race
Giant Redwood trees
Cats, cats and more Cats.
smell of lavendar
giving cats catnip
caves that are alive. (wet)
first cup of coffee in the morning.
Helping others.
roller skating

My accomplishments:
See all that I have and apprecieate it.
Settle in for a comfortable safe life.
keeping my child safe
educating my son
helping others
Unconditional Love

Accomplishments:

Getting out of that god forsaken house.
Graduating highschool (with a GPA of 1.84, I almost didn't).
Getting involved in volunteer service.
Receiving the Bronze Medal Congressional Award of Volunteer Service.
Devoting 10 months of my life to AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps, 3 of those months of which I led gutting crews of short term volunteers in New Orleans for the Hands On Network.
Climbing a mountain in the rain by myself.
Boy Scouts. Yes I was a Boy Scout. No I wasn't gay. And I didn't quit so much as I was kind of kicked out for "insubordinate" behavior...good times!
Established good credit.
I'm still a virgin, it's not really an accomplishment so much as it is the result of indifference and a compelling need to be responsible.
Survived the hell that's been these past 9 months.
Been true to myself, AND others.
Cook a pretty damn good baked ziti.
Jumped in a mosh pit during a MSI concert with a migraine.
Proven I'm actually damn good at not only conflict management, but resolution as well.

I'm still at a point in my life where I am seeking information. I'm seeking new loves and still associating with old ones. Every day I am constantly learning and soaking in the beauty of Earth, and the love of Shai Ming. I'm still young, physically and mentally. I'm hoping to spread the word of love and show the world there is hope, there is nothing that conquers love. Love conquers all.