Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(With Carol at the Mardi Gras Museum- New Orleans)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine, but a little preoccupied.
CALLIOPE: With what?
JOE: I am planning a move from Batavia to Leroy in the next month and have been busy preparing.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about the process.
JOE: Since I moved here twelve years ago, I retired as a psychologist and began writing full time. Much of the detritus of my former life still fills my apartment. Now as I prepare to move, I am sorting through the remains of my past life and preparing to move on.
CALLIOPE: How does that feel?
JOE: A little strange. I don't often stop to look back over past chapters of my life. I just close the volume and move on. Deciding what to throw out and what to pass on to others makes me think of what I have accomplished and what I still want to do.
CALLIOPE: Have you come to any great realizations?
JOE: I now realize I have been motivated mostly by achievement and helping others. I have become a little unbalanced, letting go of the opportunity to make sure I enjoy life in the process.
CALLIOPE: How are you planning to become rebalanced?
JOE: By making sure I spend more time with people and also making room for painting and photography.
CALLIOPE: My sisters will be proud of you.
JOE: Please put in a good word with your sister muses for me. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. After a deluge last night, the sky is clear blue with a few friendly clouds. I am feeling at peace and optimistic.
CALLIOPE: What brought all this on?
JOE: I have been contemplating my conversation with Gerry which we discussed yesterday. I think he is right that to some extent my early conflicts still plague me.
CALLIOPE: Which conflicts?
JOE: The ones which made me feel it was my responsibility to make sense of the world and to some extent contribute to saving it.
CALLIOPE: Rather messianic isn't it?
JOE: Now that you mention it, yes. I took it upon myself to contribute to making the world a better place in which to live. I chose to do this through my writing.
CALLIOPE: Wherein lies the conflict?
JOE: Despite what I have done in my own small way, I see the world as largely an egocentric pursuit by many of its denizens. It seems most people care mostly about themselves and not so much about others. Pursuit of what they want seldom seems to involve consideration of others' needs.
CALLIOPE: Is it you job to change this?
JOE: I am coming to realize that it is not. I think I have made suggestions in my writing of alternative ways to live including a better harmony between our own lives and those of others. But it is not up to me to make the world a perfect place before I leave it.
CALLIOPE: Good realization. So what now?
JOE: I will continue to offer any suggestions which occur to me for consideration of anyone who will listen. I will also concentrate more on enjoying the world as I find it. Talk with you tomorrow.
(My grandson Joey at Strong Museum)

Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Okay. I am coming to some resolution of my video camera mystery.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I visited the dealer yesterday and learned that the camera is working fine. The problem seems to be with my computer.
CALLIOPE: Does that surprise you?
JOE: Not really. I have been having some other problems lately and think it might well be difficulty with an outmoded operating system.
CALLIOPE: And the solution?
JOE: Replace it with a more up to date one. It is rather a bother however since I will have to reload all my programs.
CALLIOPE: Is that such a big deal?
JOE: Not really. It just takes time, and time is something I have been thinking about lately.
CALLIOPE: In what regard?
JOE: I am beginning to realize I won't live forever. I can keep sailing on or decide how I want to spend whatever time I have left.
CALLIOPE: Do you need to make a decision?
JOE: Probably not. But I feel I am drifting lately and would like to be more focused. I will give this issue some thought in the next few days. Talk with you tomorrow.
(Ernestina- New Bedford, MA)