Designing A Life

The other day a friend suggested I should write a book, perhaps a novel, wherein I could develop the characters much as I had experienced them in my own life. After all, I had already written so much about my life experiences. My response was that I had thought of writing another book, but a novel? It seemed impossible. How could I hide the reality of the characters? Wouldn’t it simply be a self-serving document, one-sided in its display how I saw others?

The thought kept tugging at my attention, but with no discernable sense of how I could accomplish such a task. Then, suddenly I thought of an approach that might work. It wouldn’t be a novel, really. It would be more like the development of a Master Plan for designing a life! That notion did intrigue me and I think I will work with it in meditation for clarity on how to proceed. If it happens, it will probably end up on this blog to begin with. Who knows, you may be the first to witness an approach to Designing A Life!

Those of you who have followed my writing efforts through the last several years know that what I write about is what I am working on in my life. That is how I have always approached writing. You also know that it has not always been an easy road. Every character in my life has his or her own story, some of them much more interesting than mine, I’m sure. And yet, here we all are together—family, friends, business associates, and even a few strangers in the night! Certainly, to the extent I would write about others in my life, the story would be from my point of view and as such, only half of the whole story. But it would be a story about how I saw my interactions with others and the challenges faced. It would be about how I attempted to resolve issues, share in adventures, reap rewards of accomplishment and ultimately learn something about living successfully.

For me there is a big difference between writing what is currently on my mind and laying out a map for a series of stories with a cast of characters and a variety of events they shared. As organized as I consider myself to be, this feels like a different game and until I gain some sense of the rules of how it is best played, I will have to move with thoughtful deliberation. Now that the idea for creating it has been planted, I will see what nurturing it brings about. Details later!