And so I return to blogging. My last entry was December 28, 2011. I quit mostly because I had to figure out how to deal with losing my website software from Mac; it’s moving into the “cloud,” or, since it’s an Apple gizmo, the iCloud. I still have only the foggiest notion of what that means. But I do know that in June, all my previous blogs and my web site are going to disappear. Don’t panic! I’ve saved them all and will be publishing them--and starting a new web site. Ah, I hear a great collective sigh of relief. I am gratified.
But from the last blog to this one has given me some time to think about why I do these blogs. All kidding aside, it’s not because of a thunderous demand for them; in fact, my readership over the years mostly consisted of a few close friends. And yet here I go again. Why?
I think the answer is, quite simply, that I write these because I enjoy writing them. We clearly don’t need another blog out there. In 2008 there were 184 million blogs; the number must be exponentially higher now. I grow weak thinking about it. It hardly seems worth the effort. A grain of sand on a very big beach. And yet here I go again.
I can’t even argue that it’s some sort of immortality; once I’m gone, these blogs will disappear. And I certainly can’t argue that this is great prose; I hope it’s adequate, but I have no higher hopes than that. And yet here I go again.
I do hope some will read these blogs. If you’re interested in my life in Chicago, the events I go to, my thoughts on politics and culture and . . . Well, this blog isn’t restricted to subject. It will go where it may. And when.
I’ll end this blog--and begin the blogs--with a quote from the Tao Te Ching (the Cleary translation), which in its wonderfully paradoxical way states my goals:
81.
True words are not beautiful,
beautiful words are not true.
The good are not argumentative,
the argumentative are not good.
Knowers do not generalize,
generalists do not know.
Sages do not accumulate anything
but give everything to others,
having more the more they give.
The Way of heaven
helps and does not harm.
The Way for humans
is to act without contention.
Good to see you blogging again. You may be only one of millions of bloggers, but each is unique. What good would a grocery store than sold only one item be?
ReplyDeleteKeep it up.
Gary,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought my attention back to your blog! I've been lagging behind on my blog reading. I can't believe there were 184 million blogs four years ago. I do believe the Smithsonian is collecting and storing all tweets; I wonder if they are doing the same with blogs. I frankly wouldn't know where to start looking for them. Although the blogs I read of people I don't know (at least not in person) have all started from a former co-worker's blog. It's like six degrees of separation from one blog to another. (I should watch that movie again.)
So, your blog and Dorien's blog(s) are on my reading list!
Love,
Mollie
Thanks! I do hope you enjoy them. For now, just one a week. I'm not as dedicated as Roger. Bless you!
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