Writing becomes some people. Perhaps I am one of them. But it doesn’t feel that way most of the time. Nonetheless, sometimes an outlet of expression is just what you need. It helps to get an idea into the world, even if it’s rough and far from ready. That’s what you’ll find in these essays.
The spirit moves me to think and talk about many subjects. In keeping with Montaigne’s style, I hope that this will be a place where those musings can be captured and refined, from time to time. As such, there is no plan to this body of work; no strategy whatsoever. I may contradict myself; very well, so be it. SEO is not the purpose, although I admit that it has practical value to practice the skill of writing meta content and optimizing for keywords (thank you, Yoast). Personal branding isn’t the purpose either – this will all, surely, be far too random to serve any coherent branding function. I think publishing in itself, putting content into the world, is the purpose. Some people use social media for that purpose, and I won’t deny that sometimes what I publish here may end up on my LinkedIn feed. But it’s not my intent to always have this content liked or even read. I think just getting into the habit of publishing something is the important point.
I have a tendency to think in analogies, so I’ll do my best to articulate one that can characterize how I’m thinking about these essays.
Our human ancestors used to run in order to eat – no, not in the sense that they would run on the treadmill for 30 minutes so they could stop on the way home for a milkshake. Literally, to eat. Like, if I don’t run and run and run, I will starve. That is how we think humanity used to survive. Running had a purpose; a goal; an essential, unavoidable nature to it. If you didn’t do it, you died.
Sidebar: It's a fascinating paradox to think about all those calories expended in pursuit of the next meal, some savannah prey animal. Now, running feels like a chore, a distraction, an inconvenience. For some people, to be sure, it is a sport. But to the vast majority of us, judging by how we mostly live our lives, it is more similar to cleaning out a closet or vacuuming under the rug. But, I like to think that with writing it is similar. We used to write to be heard, to be remembered. Piles upon piles of books were put forth into existence because, for those who could, it was the way to be remembered and to make some kind of contribution. But now it’s such a chore. Just thinking about sitting down to actually write something can be overwhelming.
So with that in mind, I’ll look at these essays in a couple different ways: a chance to put ideas in writing, and a discipline to maintain.