Ready for a Change!

I need to make a change in 2017, and the image below sums up my wishes pretty well.

Something is missing inside me.  My daughter is newly married and living with her husband.

My life seems to have little purpose these days. Maybe that feeling is due to my lack of volunteerism the past couple of years. I stopped volunteering at the two local organizations where I had been an active volunteer  because I didn't like the way I and other volunteers were treated. Since then, I have searched for new volunteer opportunities but haven't yet found anything that suits me. And with my busy travel schedule, I've been reluctant to commit to anything that requires regular participation.

I am restless, which perhaps accounts for my many travels in 2016 and an active travel schedule planned for 2017. I keep thinking about moving away from New Mexico to somewhere with a more temperate climate, but again, nothing other than California (where I can't afford to live) seems to have everything I'm looking for. I want a place with a Mediterranean climate, access to outdoor activities, environmental awareness, an affordable cost of living, and that is not overcrowded. And I need lots of sunny days, too. I'm not asking for a lot, am I?

I keep busy, but not with meaningful activities. I am pursuing my love of photography to a greater extent. I took a couple of trips this year specifically for photographers, and I always have my cameras with me when I travel. But my photo Web site has sold not one image in the more than two years I have had it operational; my photo exhibit at a local medical office has generated zero interest or sales, and my offer to make calendars to order with any of my photos generated sales of only 12 calendars. People always say how much they enjoy my pictures, but apparently not enough to purchase one. So it's pretty discouraging. I don't pursue photography as a business, but I would love to use it to raise funds to benefit a scholarship fund that help Kenyan students from rural areas attend high school.  

My life is good, better, in fact, than many. I just feel like I'm in a rut, so I need to pick myself up and figure out how to make a good life even better. Anybody want to join me? I think I will start by performing a random act of kindness.