Second thoughts

That title is accurate on several different levels. This is indeed my second posting of thoughts. And I have indeed been reconsidering this whole "blog" concept. (Interesting word "concept" - a mere one letter from "conceit"...)

I suppose this is kind of like karaoke (or anything else in life, really). As long as one does it with conviction, determination and a healthy willingness to laugh at oneself, who's to say it's wrong? I mean, how many times have you seen someone do something ridiculous, but you found yourself enjoying their antics, as idiotic as they may have been, simply because it was obvious that they were enjoying themselves?

I guess I hope that's what I'm going for here. Kind of like my dancing - what I lack in talent, I make up for with enthusiasm. :)

On another topic, I was thinking about writing this morning as I was driving to work. And not writing in the "let's construct some grand story and get it on paper" kind of writing. No, I was thinking about the simple, mechanical activity of recording one's thoughts in print. And the more I thought about it, the more awe-inspiringly magical it became.

Think about it - as you read this, you are privy to the very thoughts I am having as I write it. Possibly without you even knowing who I am, the simple act of writing them down has allowed me to project my thoughts to you across space and time. The way it has for all writers, since the first scribes put stylus to clay.

I was imagining trying to explain reading and writing to an illiterate barbarian who had never heard of such a thing. To him, I would think it would seem incredibly magical that something as simple as small marks on a piece of paper could enable us to read each others' thoughts. Hell, I'm only marginally barbaric, and it seems pretty impressive to me! :)

I suppose that feeling about the magical nature of writing is one of the reasons I have always enjoyed it. It's also why I have enough of a respect for it to make me wonder if I am doing it justice with this bit of fluff.

Words have power, and the act of writing them down deserves a great deal of respect. Don't believe me?

"The purple kangaroo, wearing a red hat and cape, rode his green bicycle through the window."

I just made you see a completely ludicrous scene in your head, simply by writing down (at least virtually) a string of small marks. If that's not power worthy of respecting, I don't know what is.

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Of course, music is pretty powerful too, and anyone who has seen me dance (or karaoke!) can tell you how little respect I show for it! :)

So, in keeping with my introduction to this entry, I shall enthusiastically, if artlessly, press on with this. Hopefully you will find the fact that I am enjoying myself reason enough to join me.