The Blog
All my life I have known the sense of pleasure and awe that comes with making personal discoveries in the natural world. The term “natural world” as used here doesn’t just mean living things. It means anything that’s part of nature, from the outer reaches of the universe to the inner recesses of humankind itself. (After all we are indeed an amazing aspect of nature.) By making little packages of some of my experiences and related thoughts and putting them in this blog I hope to inspire you to reflect on similar moments in your own life, and perhaps share them with others. Maybe we can get a ripple effect going as the recalling and sharing spread out to more and more people and thoughts of nature move into the consciousness of our fellow citizens of planet earth. That could lead to a better life for all of us, and make a friendlier, healthier home of our planet (which really doesn't care if we're here or not).
Before we move into the story telling I'm going to post some thoughts on the why, when, where, and how of connecting with nature. I hope they will provide you with some useful insights and perhaps a bit of helpful guidance.
Me
I asked myself why I am spending time writing this blog. Several answers popped up.
For reasons unknown to me I enjoy writing. Looking back I see that it started in fifth grade when I wrote my first poem. It continued through my days as a“homeroom reporter” for my junior high school and later as as writer and associate editor of my high school newspaper. I thrilled to make an occasional contribution to my hometown daily, my university daily, or my college poetry magazine. During my career I became writer and sometimes editor of a newsletter for technical employees where I worked. On the private side I filled notebooks with mental meanderings. In summary it seems I have a psychophysical need to feel a pen in my hand.
In writing for myself the two most common themes have been the working of the human mind and my experiences with nature.
Like most people I enjoy sharing my experiences whenever I can find a willing listener, which isn’t very often. By writing my stories down I can at least hope that someone, somewhere, someday, will read one and say “That was fun” or “That was interesting”. I’ve often thought of writing a book to share thoughts and experiences, but have never really known how to get started.
Writing a blog provides the experience of writing a book but without some of the more troublesome aspects. I get to choose my subject and material. I get to challenge myself to do my very best writing. Unlike the publishing of a book I get reader reactions here directly and promptly. I get to edit, rewrite, or reorganize in response to readers comments or to my own evolving views, whenever I want, even post-publication. I don’t have to be concerned about whether my writing is a commercial success. After all I haven’t invested any cold cash in it, just my time. And perhaps most important of all to me as a retiree, I don’t have to work to someone else’s schedule. True I may sometime set a tough deadline for myself, but at least it’s mine and if I don’t make it I won’t berate myself to the point of feeling that I’ve failed some test of my capabilities.
I sincerely hope you will enjoy what you find here. - KB
-
