Monday, April 26, 2010

About

When a person decides to begin a blog or website, one of the first things they do is write an About This Blog or Website post. This article usually describes the motivations behind the effort, a bit about the person behind the words and sometimes a resume even is included.

I never did that. My first post was about politics and I took off running after that. Within the last year, I backdated a post about who I am, but I didn't bother to explain about the blog itself. So, I'm going to rectify this situation right now...well, sort of.

For starters, I'm not exactly sure WHY I started this blog. That was over five years ago and I have enough trouble remembering what I did yesterday. Obviously though, I did start this blog and it's been going ever since.

If I can't provide you with my reason for starting the blog, I suppose I could tell you why I keep it going. I could give a whole bunch of philosophical hooey, but I guess the real reason is that I like to write. I think better in front of a keyboard -- this despite the fact that I'm an admitted one-finger typist (I type faster than you might think!).

In many ways, my writings are nothing more than thinking out loud. I don't know all the answers. Hell, I don't even know most of the questions half of the time! Writing has always been THE mechanism I use to organize my thoughts and I often surprise myself just how well organized my jumbled thoughts appear on paper or the computer screen.

And let's face it. Like many of you, the reason I think out loud in public is that I value feedback. I'm not ashamed in the least to admit that I like it when one or more of you writes, "Great post!" or "You nailed it" or "You gave me something really to think about." We all need positive strokes (from time to time) and, since I'm not a particularly social person, this provides me with a virtual social network.

Another thing I love about blogging is that I can do it in my underwear!! While many of us have gotten to know each other somewhat, this medium isn't like sitting down face-to-face for a beer or a cup of coffee. I can attempt to engage you when I feel like it and I can walk away from the computer when I'm not feeling very communicative.

And, of course, no post entitled About could be complete without stating the obvious: The Taoist philosophy has had a huge impact on my life and I want to share that impact with others. Unlike a lot of people I know, I don't go running around the world proclaiming the "good news" to everyone I run into; I'm not out recruiting Taoists all the hours of the day and night.

The way I see it is that, if you have an interest in philosophical Taoism from one person's point of view, then you'll drop by from time to time to read my ramblings. If this particular topic is of no interest to you, then there are millions of other blogs for you to read.

The choice is entirely yours.

3 comments:

  1. i feel the same way- since for the most part my job isn't very intellectually challenging i need to write and read and respond to people who can challenge my point of view and give me things to contemplate throughout the day. unlike most people i do not desire to become "set in my ways" with regard to my beliefs... i need to be constantly learning and developing my conceptions about life, god, morality, etc.

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  2. "I can do it in my underwear!!"
    Or even completely naked....

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  3. Iktomi,
    Ditto what you said.

    Baroness,
    I was going to write that, but I didn't want to shock sensibilities! Besides, I don't think I've ever done it completely in the buff...I, at least, wear socks! :-D

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