Going with the Flow

Arise in the morning, stumble into the bathroom for the normal routine. Slide on some clothes, not much, just enough to walk around the kitchen and not embarrass neighbors who might catch a glimpse through the patio door. Make the coffee and prepare the teapot for later use when Rocky comes downstairs. Boot up the computer, check emails, answer what can be done quickly, delete the junk and order the tasks for the day.  Next check the internet, post my blog written the day before. Write a fresh posting if I’m behind schedule!

Thus the day begins. The calendar is checked for obligations throughout the day and logistics planned for use of our one vehicle. Writing assignments are listed, and pounding the keyboard begins soonest.

Breakfast intervenes at some point but the day moves on to customize to the demands planned and not planned. Queries for the paper are fielded, researched and written. So are blogs but that comes from a different place in the mind.

As the day moves on I’m aware of themes, facts emerging, rhythms of public opinions, issues shifting about. An idea rises from the chaos to unify or organize the seemingly unconnected items. That idea grows. And a blog topic pops into view.

There are those days when I am disgusted by dissension, the chaos of separate minds making strange conclusions from the very same data others view – and yup! they come to different conclusions as well. Although this is frustrating at first, it actually gives me the meat to write about, to make sense of. It is calming for me to do so. It is very much a therapy.

It is not therapeutic if I’m angry as I write. Those times I need to be calmed; else all the noise is a venting. Not useful to the reader. Not useful to me either, to tell the truth, but it does relieve pressure!

This process confronts me daily, seven days a week. But this truth comes startlingly alive: my opinions shift with new information gathered.  I become hungry for fresh input to better manage my opinions on related matters. It is refreshing to me. It keeps my brain keen. I look forward to each new day because of the possibility of gaining new information and insights. It is fruitful for me to do this.

That may make me a strange bird. But it makes me sane (my opinion!). This practice helps me account for differing opinions among many of my friends and family members. We rarely agree on these things so it is important for me to understand the difference yet allow me to think as I do. The discipline of the process is important. It forces facts to yield truth. The latter is the grist of good logic and subsequent discourse.

Let the times roll. Let the information flow. Allow me the freedom to think it through. The task is never done but the journey contains much interest and fun!

Thanks for letting me go with the flow!

PS: A happy birthday shout out to my former wife Ann and my new daughter in law Eduenis. May both of you have a day of beauty and fresh thoughts!

June 6, 2013