05 March 2006

Autobiography on the Tree of Life

picture your life-so-far
as a line running from left to right
not-quite-the-full-width
of your current browser window

picture the top of the window
as the east/west longitude
of the easternmost place you've lived
(for more than a year, say
for now)
and the bottom, the westernmost

start with the place you lived the longest
(call it 'Main')

move your lifeline
up or down, to the level
between east (top)
and west (bottom)
of that place (Main)

trim the start and the end of
your horizontal lifeline
to match the relative
start and end
of your time at Main



picture the emotional tones
of your time in Main

the highs and lows

and the inflection points
where everything changed

assign colors
to each span of tone




remember why you moved to Main
and where you moved from

why you left
and where you went next

what attracted you to the new
repelled you from the old?

when did the attraction
or repulsion
start?
(picture its startingpoint
and its endingpoint)




repeat