Questions for Reflection

Date	Nov 30, 2022
Total 2022 Caminos:	340 miles
Total All Caminos:	1620 miles
Planes:	$810 Munich -> Rochester -> Munich
Total Planes:	$ 810

Meaningful Moment

I was watching Season 2 of Babylon5 (The Fall of Night). The dominant theme of the episode, not including the coming Shadow wars, were the questions:

Who are you?

What do you want?

Perhaps these are good topics on which to reflect while I meander along the southwest of Bavaria.

***

A couple and a coffee. 11/24/22. I'm sitting in downtown Summit NJ at Boxwood Coffee. I look out the window and see a young woman with two good-looking dogs out front. A young man walks out of Boxwood with two coffees. He gives her one. She smiles and the four of them walk down the street. 

"How can one's heart not melt at such a simple sight of affection?" ... I feel contentment at this moment. 

Random Thought of the Day

"Who are you?"

Tuesday (11/22/22): Realizing that I need external activities in my life. Just three days out of a full college load, and I am getting bored stupid. At least, I have a dog to walk.

Thursday (11/24/22): Seeking to be at peace with the decisions that I've made. Not as dramatic as it sounds because I am relatively satisfied with my life. But I suppose it is human to always wonder - as I sit in Boxwood Coffee in Summit NJ on Thanksgiving Day, spending the holiday with my partner's family.

"What do you want?"

Tuesday (11/22/22): To matter, which I do - to my partner, to my son, d-in-law and grandkids, siblings, mother and acquaintances. 

Thursday (11/24/22): To matter (still). This morning I took Gimli - 85 lbs of Chocolate Lab joy - out for a morning walk. What is it about a dog that makes one feel better?

Bavaria Report

Of the next eight days, six are projected to be rainy. Two are projected to partly cloudy. I think that I need to verify all my rain gear.

Established a personal connection to Munich. I didn't realize that some I know lived in Munich. She gave me the address and I will look it up and get a picture. Turns out to be on the way out of Munich at the start of the Muenchner Jakobsweg.

Day Minus 1

The weather here in Rochester is just grey and more grey with rain. It pulled down my mood.

I made it to a morning gentle Yoga session at the YMCA, and then headed back to the Y in the afternoon for a weight session.

I had to get out of the house. I took Gimli (85-lb Chocolate Lab) with me so we could walk in the park also.

I am unsurprisingly blase about this upcoming trip -- tomorrow. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's a more general sense of needing something - something outside myself.

***

Deb and I spent a quiet night binge-watching three episodes from Season 3 of Babylon 5. Really helped take the edge off my pre-flight anxieties. ;#)

What do I Want?

Having been retired just over three and one-half years now, I may have finally hit that part of being retired that realizes that I need a reason to get up in the morning. 

When I wake up, it doesn't normally matter whether I stay in bed or start moving. 

In the Navy, we had the term "ROAD" which meant "Retired on Active Duty". That is basically just putting in the days / weeks / months / years to get to 20 years active service and a guaranteed 50% pension. You don't try very hard, but do make sure to do enough to stay out of trouble.

I feel like I'm in ROAD status, in the sense that I am just moving through the days ... without a mission to fulfill.

I shall, in Germany, reflect on what I want to do with the public part of my life, the part that needs to be socially meaningful.