Monday, February 11, 2008

Why Write An Online Journal?

Why Write An Online Journal?

I've been considering writing an online journal for a little over a year now.  I haven't quite found the time to start so it always remained as one of those things that I contemplated but never started. These are the reasons why I have decided to start now.

New Years Resolution:

One of my New Years Resolution is to dedicate a set amount of time per week to the simple act of reflection.  To sit in the silence and just...think...about things.  About the events that happened during the week.  About the emotions that rose and fell.  About the things I saw and did and failed to do. 

An Instrument of Clarity:

I have always turned to journalling as an instrument of clarity.  The process of writing helps me to order my thoughts, to sort through the hurly burly of my imagination, to wade through all of the powerful sensations the course through us at a given time.

An Old Influence:

Back in my early days in the web I had stumbled upon a web site, constructed by a teacher in Southern California, who wrote about - well, pretty much everything that moved through his days.   It was a strong influence in my abiding love for the power of the world wide web, the power to peer into other peoples lives and so to experience things beyond ourselves, to glimspe the inner processes of other individuals.  This was back before the explosion of blogging and though there are several blogs that I routinely read, I still think fondly of long days I spent reading that website.  I hope that, in reading this, there is someone who realizes that the web does not have to be relentlessly snide and shallow, that all we need to do, as individuals, is reach inside of ourselves and exposes ourselves slightly.

A Desire To Write:

Finally, I love to write - as I mentioned above I love the process of writing, I love the sweep of a well told story.  Writing is like any other skill - if you do not use it, it slips away.  I write extensively for work - mostly technical documentation and business cases and complex analyses.  I love the work, I love the writing, but it is not the same as writing journal entries, or poetry, or short stories.  I hope to share some of those through this venue.

So, if you have clicked on that link and are now reading this journal - thanks.  I hope you find something here you enjoy.

-San Jose, CA

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