~ Ambassador Kosh to Captain Sheridan (just as the shit was hitting the fan), Babylon 5
I am a 41 year-old man living in a suburban town in the northeastern part of the United States.
I am just an ordinary person, living on this planet with 7.5 billion other people.
I have a wife, two children, a house, two cats, and I am a SAHP*
And I am not having a nervous breakdown. Or a midlife crisis. Yet.
But, I am hoping to avoid these two things…
… by resurrecting this blog.
* Stay At Home Parent
(This is the 1st installment of a series introducing my blog.
Back in the fall of 2014, in response to a life-altering experience, I began to blog. The blogging lasted less than a year; the pain from the experience, a bit longer (confession: the wound hasn’t healed over yet). Then, five years of personal growth followed. I took steps to change my life (read books, watched YouTube videos, attended Weight Watcher meetings—the usual stuff). Now, it’s time for me to take a leap forward. To where exactly? I don’t know, and that’s why I want to blog again.
This blog will become a chronicle of my new journey: a way to make sense of what I have done and where I am going. And, hopefully, a person or two will engage me, forming an ongoing dialogue of sorts. Besides being enjoyable, interacting with people will help me to grow further, faster (constructive feedback is important—emphasis on “constructive”). At the very least, even if this blogging attempt fails, it will provide an opportunity to learn from my mistakes.
It will also inspire me to write more. My mind is filled with thoughts and questions, ideas and dreams, stories and fantasies. It is a maelstrom that is breeding chaos in a small, confined space. I need to clear it out, or a least organize it in some meaningful way. Otherwise, I will accomplish little in life, and likely drive myself, and everyone around me, insane. Writing it out—typing it up—is the answer. And good writing requires regular exercise. Maintaining a blog provides a strong incentive for me to write daily: a good blog requires meeting deadlines, and publishing posts instills accountability.
For the moment, the material will be more fitting of a lifestyle blog: examples of what I have done, the directions I am heading, and goals I have in mind. There is something to be gained by putting it out there, even if no one ends up caring: it will build confidence, develop skills, and reinforce good habits. Habits form faster, and become stronger when they start simple and draw on accessible material (who knows myself better than me?).
However, in time, I will be ready for a challenge. The blog will then evolve. It will become more complex, encompassing my research and ideas on a host of subjects. That is when my readers will discover my madness. While I may not be an expert on anything, nor have a brilliant mind, I am curious about many subjects. Too many subjects. Questions constantly fill my head. Hours are spent desperately trying to make sense of it all. I analyze everything, including the nature of evil, what I am going to say to someone, or how I am going to get to the store. And at times this is paralyzing (that nine yards of mulch won’t buy itself). Writing it out will help me to sort through it all. Finally, I will realize why we love, and where to plant my tomatoes.
For the moment, I will be publishing one post on Monday mornings, and another on Thursday nights. The former will be a personal post (what events triggered all of this, how daydreaming screws up my life, why beauty is one of three things that is always on my mind). The latter will be a weekly roundup (interesting things I discovered between posts, steps I have taken to achieve certain goals, the last thing I baked). The schedule will change eventually, matching my interests and drive. But I have to begin somewhere, and this plan is the most manageable, while providing some challenges for growth.
Ultimately, I am a middle-aged man who has seen some things, learned a few lessons, but still has a lot of crap to figure out, and I want the world to know it (avoiding any possible confusion and future questions).
So, here I go… again!
No comments:
Post a Comment