On the need to share thoughts in public
I have, from time to time, felt compelled to share what I’m reading and thinking. Not because there is particular demand for it, but because creation requires thinking, while consumption does not. I don’t see the point of reading 10, 100, or 1000 books if all of that knowledge just sits in one’s head, serving no one.
Now, that knowledge can and should be shared in intimate settings, like conversations with a friend or hanging out with family. It certainly should be! However, publishing things into the world takes courage that private conversations do not. I think that boldness has value, even if it invites criticism. In his novel Hyperion, Dan Simmons wrote “Belief in one’s identity as a poet or writer prior to the acid test of publication is as naive and harmless as the youthful belief in one’s immortality…and the inevitable disillusionment is just as painful.” We grow through criticism, hardship, and adversity.
No one changed the world in their comfort zone. No one changed themselves in their comfort zone either. I originally wrote that I didn’t aspire to change the world, but that’s not true. We all change the world every single day. With every word we speak and every deed we do, we impact those around us. Impact brings change, even if unintentionally. My aspiration then is for that impact on myself and others to be a positive one.
In order to act on that aspiration, I wanted to try something new for the new year. I don’t enjoy using the big social media networks, dislike the pressure I put on myself running a structured blog, and don’t want to make a big deal out of everything to post it. This space is just that; a place that I can share what I’m thinking without turning it into a three-ring circus. I’m looking forward to the journey, wherever it leads.