July newsletter

The biggest news for July is that I finally got my storage unit cleaned out. I don’t even want to think about how much I have spent to keep all the things we brought from Illinois. And that is what it was in it —just things. I went Wednesday, the last day in June and swept out the cobwebs and a half a bucket of dust from the storage unit.

It was so hard to get rid of Edward’s things. Most of it I didn’t even know what it was other that it was something he worked on. It’s really sad in a way, a man spends all his life working on something and when he is gone, we take it to the dump. A small portion of it, I did save because the memories are still too strong. But, it does not make sense to pay thousands of dollars in storage fees for computer printouts of something that is antiquated.

I pitched several dumpsters full of nothing more than books. I love books and probably kept more than I should have, because my book shelves are still overflowing. The children wouldn’t let me get rid of some of the furniture and antiques though. I’ve been emotional and teary-eyed all month, but it feels good to have it over with. There are still a few things left in my car port to be dispersed, and my house is bulging with things I couldn’t let go of, but the worst is over.

This experience has made me think about the things that I hang on to someone will have to go through all over again when I die. Why do we as human beings hang on to these things? We don’t need it wherever we go from this mortal life. The most important things are intangibles, love, memories, kind deeds, and experiences. Those are the things that are impossible to replace. 

Why is it harder for some of us to throw away things than it is for other? I think young people are better about de-junking. Those of us from an era where things were hard to get and we had to make do with what we had, tend to hang on to things more.

I remember Aunt Ruthy talking about how it is still hard for her to throw away
gallon jugs because the family saved them to sell Uncle Jake’s molasses. In those days, we saved fabric in the form of, good but too small clothes to make into quilts. The idea of buying brand new yard goods to put into a quilt was a difficult one for me to get use to.

That was the days before the different marts we have now. Are things going to get like that again? There are some who believe it will. Some say there will come a time when we will have to mine the dumps. Makes me think of the movie Wall ~e.  I don’t know if that’s true or not, but if it is I just left you a lot of books to read.

The Web Site
http://www.theindividualpath.com I spent most of my time in June working on this site. I featured someone on Favorite Paths this month and there are a lot of other writers I want to include in that section of the site as time goes on. I thought I’d have something for Significant Paths first but that’s not the way it worked out.

Favorite Paths

Like many writers, I write because I have to. All these words come into my head and won’t leave me alone until I get them down on paper. What if I could satisfy my passion for writing and actually make money in doing so?

Chris Guillebeau , a successful writer himself, has put together a 55 page downloadable PDF book called The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money. Chris says,”Most artists fail not because they lack talent but because they have not been properly trained in how to represent themselves, build a customer base and actually sell their great artwork.”
I know this is very true in my case. Selling my art—my writing—is not something I do well. There are two versions of the book, one for beginners, like me, and one for those who are experienced but would like to do better. Part of what makes the guide so helpful is that Chris includes interviews from other artist who are making money so you can see the principles he talks about at work.
The other important thing is that he has follow up emails with the Guide to Art and Money as well as with the classes and other books he offers. He seems more interested in making helpful material available than in making a sale. That impresses me.

His three ebooks I recommend are:

Art + Money,
Get Your Message to the World and
Breaking Out of the Nine to Five.
He will soon release his first book on Amazon. The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World by Chris Guillebeau

Way to go Chris!

What else did I do in June?

I tried to learn my way around Facebook. Kudos to Donna S. Marks who introduced me to fb to start with. (She taught this old lady a few new tricks)

And I think I finally got the idea behind Twitter this morning. I’m so slow but I’m Ceil and I’m on my individual path.