A Goal: To Have No Goals?!

FRI., JUNE 4, 1999, 3:15 PM
FARM, STUDY

This is a time of life for you, o son, when it becomes intriguing… even imperative to have no goals. You have lived a good, productive life, with many goals… and many of them achieved. Now the need to be working toward some goal… or goals… is fading. And I say, yes, this is appropriate for you.

Oh, you still can have some responsibilities… and you’ll have to make some choices. Will you have a wondrous flower garden or will you allow Digger to continue his destructive life around this Farmhouse? Is having rabbits and chickens part of a goal or is it just assuming a certain responsibility in relation to these forms of life? How beautiful do you want this home place to be? Is this a goal or just a desire that you can fulfill with some efforts?

These are all good questions, but you needn’t make it a goal to have them answered. What are some goals that are worthy for you, at this time in your life? I won’t want you to see the hearing of Me, in these Teachings, as a goal. It is just one of life’s pleasures, that you don’t deserve but have accepted, as a continuing gift. I have let you feel that having at least 3 or 4 a week is about right for you, but you shouldn’t feel that this is some firmly set goal. Primarily, these are to be enjoyed and appreciated as your best means for living life in these golden years.

You set a goal, a number of years ago, of writing, printing, and sending out 4 Ruminations each year, one in each 3 month time. You have achieved this rather well, but it still takes some effort to meet that self-imposed deadline. Yet you know that I want you to continue this, with My help, certainly. It could be seen as a goal, or… it can be just a Letter that you and I do together… and that is both fun and worthwhile to accomplish.

Another aspect of life that was once, years ago, a goal: to enjoy your wife, Lenore, and to live in ways that make her happy. You still need to be reminded of this, but it is now just a cue as to how to live together in your best ways, continuing what is a vital aspect of your life. It is not so much a goal to achieve, but a way of life to “have.”

It is good to have, as a goal, the desire to keep this Farm looking neat… but natural. This requires continual balancing…between compulsive efforts to achieve “the best look,” and the enjoyment of playfully working around here. Thus you have to set some goals, being pleased I these are completely achieved, but also accepting of partial success… or even failure.

You do really want to have this study room in a neater condition before you leave for Hawaii. That will take some effort, and it could be seen as a goal to have this environment more organized. It could mean, of course, just putting everything on the floor into boxes and take these up to the attic. Or you could sort though these piles, saving what should be saved and throwing the rest away. Or… you could just accept this as the normal condition of this room and just “let it be,” without any great “purge.”

You have pretty much given up goals in relation to your former profession – health education. When you moved to the smaller office you discarded a lot of “stuff,” and you are now giving your journals to the younger folk. This is good. You needn’t hang on to what was an important aspect of your life. You achieved most of your professional goals. You needn’t seek any more. Be of help to students who still seek you, but be almost goal-less as you relate to the University and your “former” profession.

My best advice: keep moving in the direction of having no goals… but, this needn’t be a goal. Just assess, from your now 73 year old viewpoint, whether some goal is desirable, even necessary. Your only long range goal is to live life fully and joyfully, with your hand in Mine. Some short-term goals can be desirable, but be just as ready to change or drop a goal as to struggle on toward attainment.