Here goes… This is my inaugural blog post. I have that first day of school/first day of a new job feeling of both excitement and dread. Thank you, dear reader, for joining me on this journey.
I am making up the rules for my blog as I go. After tinkering with things for some time now, I have had to reach the point where I can let myself think that way. Voltaire once said that “the perfect is the enemy of the good,” and I have learned that lesson the hard way in forty-something years on the planet.
As a young kid, I was the boy who misplaced his schoolbooks, paper, pencil, you name it. I looked out the window too much and let distractions get me flustered. I was told, mostly justifiably I think, that I needed to get in gear and focus on the task at hand. So, as I got older, I overcompensated by becoming a highly caffeinated worrier and perfectionist. I kept playing the old tapes in my head and telling myself that I had to prove something to “them,” though I am not sure exactly who the “them” actually was. More often than not, I think it was a matter of me paying too much attention to my tough inner critic.
So, while “getting my ducks in a row,” has its positive aspects, my problem has often been that I approach projects with the mindset of making sure that I understand absolutely everything and can anticipate every possible complication before I take any concrete actions. Of course, I can pat myself on the back for being so conscientious, but after a while, that sinking feeling can become immobilizing. I need to “just do it,” or, to put it a bit more crudely, “poop or get off the pot.”
I am making a fair amount of progress on that front lately. It’s not an overnight transformation, but I take more and more baby steps to get there. Starting this blog is part of that plan. (Along these general lines, my old friend Kari penned an insightful blog post on the subject of our “too-hard piles.” a couple of months ago, and her ideas helped me ask myself some valuable questions.)
So, now that I have managed to actually jump into the water, what’s this blog about? I am breaking a cardinal rule of the digital gurus that be by declaring that it’s about a bit of everything. According to the experts, I need to specialize or else my message will get lost out there. Well, I still want to give this a shot. I have so many divergent interests, but in my mind at least, they are somehow tied together. I want to grow as a writer and put myself out there and see what happens. I am taking a risk, but whether or not people read what I have to say, I figure that I can still learn something new from the experience.
I have a personal style that involves thinking out loud to help myself process everything for myself. When it comes to the stuff of life, I typically do have something to say. It may not always click in terms of every subject in every situation, but I am determined to find those happy accidents where something I share resonates with someone else, and then maybe we can better ourselves together or at least have some fun.
Welcome aboard, and I hope you enjoy the ride. Make sure your personal items are securely stowed in the overhead compartments or under the seat in front of you and that your seat belts are securely fastened and that your seats and tray tables are in their upright locked positions. Complimentary beverages and snacks will be served when we have reached cruising altitude.
Coloring Outside the Lines 