Monday, March 26, 2012

Telling My Story

I’ve posted 186 essays on this blog in less than 6 months. That is more than one each day. Even when I took a day off, I posted to tell you that, and added a little bit, too! So, the story goes on, and on. 
I usually write one posting item in advance. Sometimes two if my mind is whirring. That strategy keeps me from experiencing ‘blank page syndrome,’ the key element of writer’s block. So far I haven’t experienced that. Came close once.

I started this blog because I had a lot of stuff in my head I wanted to get out in the open. I didn’t know if it was important or not; just that it was crammed in the skull and its presence blocked dealing with other things. Sort of like constipated thinking; all blocked up. 

Once the blog started the brain pan began to empty! Not unlike diarrhea! Sorry for the comparison but it seems to fit pretty well. I have family members who would agree! They wonder why I think it is important that I share these thoughts with anyone. Well, that’s an interesting question. 

They don’t know what I’ve lived through. They don’t know what my mind has contended with. They are not witness to my personal development. A quote from the Internet (the great Anonymous in the sky!): 

“You know my name, not my story.
You’ve heard what I’ve done,
Not what I’ve been through.”

So true. So very, very true.  What I’ve been through informed me, my mind, my soul, my present-past-future. Putting it together was a struggle, but rewarding. It taught me things. It taught me to ask the question Why? And How? It sought answers. It didn’t jump to conclusions, because that just caused a lot of rethinking when some conclusions didn’t hold up. So the process continued. The questions kept coming. The Who? The What? The how? And the Why?

I read a lot. I talked to other people. I worked with a lot of people. Always seeking more information. Answers. Building conclusions. Wondering why and coming up with answers that often worked a long time before I had to adjust them. And I did. Lots of times. 

This struggle has continued for a long time. I still don’t know all the answers to my questions. Nor will I! But the search has been interesting. Sometimes fun. Eventually joyous.

I don’t feel isolated. I don’t feel smug. I don’t feel ‘know it all.’ Not at all. What I feel is humble. Vulnerable. Still forming. And I accept that. It’s a good thing. It’s all good!

Why? Because it pulls me out of myself, off of me as primary focus. It drives me to other people and their skills and weaknesses, flaws and gem-facets. Others are refreshing. Others are different, from me and you and still others. It is the group that enlivens our lives. It is the meshing of many minds that create tapestries of thought that enlighten us all. It is the story of mankind universal. Each alone until we seek companionship; each alone until we let other minds into our thinking; each alone until we share the all with everyone.

Is that ego? Is that soul? Is that spirit? Or God, or what?

I am not a myth maker. I am a consumer of mythology; we all are, right? We seek broader meaning and when confronted with great mysteries we construct something to tide us over until we catch up with the facts and better theory. Mankind has been doing that since the beginning of time. Trying to explain what life is, why life is, what we are to do with this thing named ‘life.’

Well, the more I study it, the more I conclude that we are here on this planet to enjoy one another and life itself. To do that we need to be kind to one another and be helpful. Not hurtful. We need to cooperate and collaborate. That means together. Not alone. Not focused on ‘I’, but ‘we.’

This is not poetry. It is fact. It is real. It is life. And it is good.

Are we making too much of things? Are we ready yet to enjoy? Or are we doomed to think and be dark and dreary and afraid?

“You know my name, not my story. You’ve heard what I’ve done, not what I’ve been through.” It is the latter that contains the struggle. And it is honest. It is me. It is life.

March 26, 2012




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