List: Imaginary Lives

There's this book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron which is intended as a guide to re-tapping into your creative imagination and productivity...it was originally written for artists who feel creatively stuck, but is actually pretty good fodder for getting unstuck in a more general way, and I know a few people who have found it useful. It found its way into my hands in a rather weird series of coincidences just as I had quit my job and had no idea what I was gong to do next.

Anyway, one of the things she has you do is envision other "imaginary" lives you might enjoy. The goal is not so much to identify a new career as identify the underlying activities or characteristics of these occupations, and find a way to weave them into your current life in some way. I was recently looking through old notes from this time, and came upon my Top Ten Imaginary Lives, which as it turns out, has eleven items, 'cause I'm just a Renaissance kind of gal. They were, in no particular order:

1. Archaeologist
   
2. Private investigator
3. Professional writer
4. Person on movie productions whose job it is to find all the obscure items and perfect bits of detail to make the setting vivid and realistic
5. Yoga teacher
6. Nobel-prize winning peace & justice activist
7. Coffee shop owner (a cool coffee shop, with movie nights, and book readings, and of course free wireless)
8. Designer/decorator of small homes, or possibly professional organizer
9. Theologian (hey, you saw all those books I've read - I oughtta be able to do something with that...)
   
10. Research scientist
    
11. Small-(scenic)-town postmistress and eccentric lady who takes in stray dogs

Yeah, there's some range there. The moment for some of these, like archaeologist and research scientist, has probably passed me by. I mean, really, I'm all for lifelong learning, but cannot possibly envision starting an entirely new academic pursuit, all the way through to PhD, at my age. And I'm cool with that.

But of the remaining feasible ones...Nobel Laureate...Eccentric Stray Dog Lady...Hmmm...how to choose?