Why blogging is a good thing for me to do

I'm not writing this blog to convince you of anything.

Neither am I writing to sway you to my point of view.

You don't have to share my opinions. I don't make any more sense than Rush Limbaugh, Michael Moore, or that guy down the block who has something to say about...everything. If you want a better opinion, find the oldest person you know who seems happy and is unmedicated, and ask them to talk about their life.

I am human, and by necessity am opinionated, flawed, and yes, I do get PMS.

All that said, a friend of mine recently shared with me that I was able to reflect back to her some of the things going on in her life, and provide her with a valuable point of view... and that subsequently and rapidly her life dramatically changed for the better. As such, she bought me dinner and two Huge glasses of wine to say 'thank you'. I do not claim to be the cause, but I am happy to help.

I find I'm at my best at this opinion-thing when I'm detatched from what the other person is going through and that they are able to receive it more (there's actually a reason in physics for that one). I admit totally that I struggle with detatchment when it comes to my own life and direct experiences. That's a puzzle I haven't worked through, and leaves me, on occasion, emotionally very raw.

So, I'm writing as a bucket into which to throw my varied opinions, as they are, and to hopefully open eyes to things that maybe, you really didn't think about quite in the way I'm saying them. At other times, I hope something in you sighs, "yes. that's it." when I say something that has made a lot of sense. If I don't get your knickers twisted on occasion, I'm probably not going far enough.

I'm also working to practice communicating from my heart as well as from my head. And I love to write. And to read what I wrote, and say, "Yes, that's me."

In addition, my sun sign is Virgo, my rising sign and moon sign are both in Gemini. While I don't utilize astrology as a daily planner, I do find it useful to note that what this means is that I am ruled in many ways by the metaphor of the planet Mercury -- The Communicator (and deliverer of flowers by FTD). As such I can reflect on my own thoughts and emotions and experiences. Sometimes opinions are racing through my head and I have to put them somewhere to make my Virgo side feel useful in having all of these opinions.

I'm also writing, because I once put my loquatiousness to use on another private online forum that I have since departed from. Some of my friends have shared that they miss my perspectives on that board, but it really was time for me to go. They may find a piece of what was once there, but I don't expect that these posts will be nearly as personal. Additionally, this will be available to a wider and more diverse audience, which necessitates greater selectivity and less disclosure, but also makes my thoughts available to whomever is interested... which could be a good thing.

Any opinion and any philosphical perspective on life, the universe, and everything is necessarily non-comprehensive. This applies to religions, political structures, 12-step programs, and anything else you can think of. For anything at all that can be had experientially, there are not enough words that can be used to wrap thoughts around it to make it disappear, or to elucidate all dark corners. The map is never the territory.

Life is, by nature, unbounded. I consider this blog, as well as any other effort to be essentially trivial. Please don't take me too seriously.