The Value of Writing

Almost every day, I come to this site and write a little reflection on the day that's about to fade into memory. In the beginning, I had visions of grandeur and imagined that somehow...someway...someone was going to stumble upon these random musings and fall a little bit in love with seeing what got put down on the page. They'd keep this page to themselves for awhile and then, one day, something would strike them from a particular angle and they would forward it to one of their friends. Soon, this humble set of musings would go viral, and I would achieve an anonymous fame if only for a little bit of time.

Crepuscular Rays over the Anacostia Waterfront

I suppose I really just wanted someone to notice the things that I saw and did and experienced. It has been beautiful.

Needless to say none of that fantasy has played out. Almost every day I come back to write, and almost every day I have a very small handful of bot visits, but other than that, everything that's gone up on this site has passed without notice to the wider world.  Oh, there was that one brief period where I experienced double digit site visits for the better part of a week from Russia. I suspect someone or something was passing by and and decided to use some of the photos I've posted as part of their profile on the Eurasian dating site that seemed to be the entry point for most of the views. Whoever they were, and whatever they were doing, I certainly hope they got lucky.

Silly visions of fame aside, I've come to enjoy the time spent trying to capture the thoughts and feelings that I encounter along this journey of life. The writing practice certainly has helped me become more proficient in executing my responsibilities at a job, that if I'm honest, doesn't hold the same appeal for me that it once held.

This space has also given discipline to my thoughts, and the photography aspect has forced me to be more present throughout the day.  As I said, the journey certainly held more than my fair share of beautiful moments.

Tomorrow I will return again to practice some writing, but the visions of fame have slipped away. Tomorrow I'll write for the sake of writing, observe my life more closely because that's the only real way to live, practice militant optimism, and be open to surprises as the creativity that is at the heart of everything in the universe expends its energy in the bringing of life. It's going to be a grand experience.

Testing Boundaries

Today, I made a bit more progress testing some boundaries by challenging some assumptions about the arc of my life going forward that I've managed to fall into the habit of believing over the last several years. For whatever reason, a new energy has begun to emerge. I always believed that I was a relatively optimistic person, but even that aspect of my outlook has improved. As far as testing boundaries, all I really have done is begin to take small steps away from some unconscious assumptions that I may have been harboring. These steps aren't long or far reaching, but just a little bit of change has improved my outlook and resulted in a new sense of invigoration.

Looking forward to what tomorrow may reveal. 

A Touch of Fatigue and Cautiously Optimistic News

A wonderful thing happened this morning.  I woke up and was granted another sunrise.

Anacostia River Morning with the USS Barry

I also finally received the news that Mr. C is out of surgery and as far as anyone knows things have gone as well as can be expected.  This experience has convinced me that announcing major medical procedures on Facebook is not something that I'll be pursuing for myself.  It does have the advantage of speed in getting the word disseminated quickly, but I would be lying if I didn't admit to a little anxiety associated with the waiting leading up to the latest report.  Not for me, but I understand why people might want to do things this way.

I am tired.  The half marathon average days are taking their toll.  Fortunately, I'm not really dealing with any muscle or joint fatigue, but more of an overall sense of energy expended and want to take about a five hour nap tomorrow morning after I wake up for first breakfast kind of tired.

Being tired is not a bad feeling.  Actually, it imparts a sense of accomplishment, but I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open right now.  I'll take that as a sign from the universe to get some rest.  Once again, I'm looking forward to the hope of another day tomorrow to be given the opportunity of putting some more miles under my feet.