At the end of June, 2007 is when I started this blog about the lumps and the bumps that come along with it all. “All,” for me, is an overactive mind and a passionate heart that causes major damage when there is no outlet.
So, I took to writing. I couldn’t settle for jots and ramblings in a private journal; that wasn’t cutting it. I found it to be pointless to mash all those racing thoughts into processed coherency only to get it out of my system. Surely there has to be a use for all that productivity. Right? If ‘misery loves company’ is true, then you came to the right place.
But, it’s more than that. I’ll always be stumped as to how others think and feel and react and act. Even so, there are a few things I’ve gleaned that I think are givens. Like, art, music and reading, especially reading something that captures the imagination, sends the wheels spinning, invites conversation, writing is a way to create that gives a ‘step outside and take a break’ from life. In other words, if by writing something that causes you to forget what you were thinking about before you started reading, then I’ve done my job.
Still, there’s that question, forever present in my mind, about how you think and feel and react and act. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stymied at how obviously differently my mind takes me in comparison. Here’s a few examples:
- The Big Picture. It is as clear as the nose on your face to me that what is going on today is hideously inhumane, and it’s nothing short of unmitigated greed. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The Whole Thing can’t end well like this.
- When I have an animal, I don’t just own a few dogs and a horse. I have the responsibility to care for those dogs and that horse. And, when an animal comes into my life, generally, it is here to stay. My pets are a part of my family and my life. I can’t imagine having these dogs and horse and not feeding them.
- I can’t imagine going to work and not working. If I agree to work for money, then work is what I do while I am on the clock. And, the work that I do is done to the best of my ability.
- When I say I am going to do something, I do it. If something happens that I can’t do what I said I would do, I say so. If I can’t do something, I don’t say that I can or will. I just keep my mouth shut.
- I don’t think in terms of liking or not liking someone. I may not understand or relate much to a person, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. If a person wracks up a bunch of negative points, then I just stay away. We are all different and we all have the right to our differences.
I’m an introvert. When something upsets my apple cart, I look at myself first, tear myself apart bit by bit, kick myself around the block a hundred times to figure out what I’ve done to cause disharmony. I found that there is no way to change how or make someone think or feel. That is one thing that is entirely up to each person. Just acknowledging that fact, that cold and hard fact, is the key to an open mind. Because, without an open mind, life becomes stagnant, lifeless and cold.
Writing is a process. It takes breaking things down step by step, inch by inch and examining every particle. So, I study, search, seek until I find coherence, logic and reason. Then, I publish it here. Much of what a person learns is learned from others, and maybe, just maybe, you can use what I learn in your own way.
Here’s to 4 years of A Bumpy Path. This is entry #453. That is 453 times an average of 700 to 1,000 words. That is staggering if you think about it.
And I’m just getting started!
