What for?

I like talking to myself. I like talking with myself. I am a good friend of mine. Therefore, to give my thoughts some credence and permanence, I must blog. Well, sort of. On a more serious note, I believe that writing is the best way to formulate your thoughts and really decipher what it is exactly that is happening in your mind. On a side note, when I say "you", or "your," I'm not really talking about you. I probably don't even know that you're reading this right now. It's called a general, or generic, you. It just means anyone in general. As I was saying, I often tell people, mostly my students, that writing is thinking. You cannot truly think, and I know that's a vague reference there (what does "truly" really mean?), unless you write. Because writing, as mentioned earlier, forces you to concretize your thoughts and commit to them. You are not allowed to have mushy, amoebic, non-committal thoughts when you write. You have to put something on paper, or in this case on the screen, and it can't be an idea or a sense or an experience. It must be words.

That's why I write. I want to train my mind to think rigorously, constantly, and intentionally. It is hard to wander in your thoughts and let your brain think whatever may come when you're writing. That is why, I am convinced, that this is a necessary discipline in my life. Particularly since I plan to write here about things that really matter. At least to me. Things that are often on my mind, things that keep me up at night, things that wake me up in the morning. Instead of just musing in vague generalities, writing about those thoughts will force me decide what I really think and sharpen my critical and analytical abilities.

If you read this, and here I'm actually talking to you, not just myself, feel free to comment or respond. I enjoy getting feedback to my reflections, whether positive or critical. Only, be real. My life is full of enough phonies; I don't need to hear from one more.

Just a note about the content, in some detail, of this blog. I will try to post every day, or at least close to that. And mostly my comments will center around what I have been reading that day, and any thoughts that have risen from that reading. I am beginning a reading schedule through the Bible with some of my good friends, and I feel that this will force me to be more attentive to the reading if I force myself to not only reflect on it, but actually write about it. We'll just have to see how long this lasts. Hopefully beyond this week.

As my favorite animated film character, Timon, would say: "It starts."