He had come to that passage in the old legend so many
Before had listened to through the centuries -
But, oh, the difference, for now it was told to him,
And it wasn't believable!
Anyway, I feel the need to withdraw into myself just now, so blogging is going to continue to be sporadic for the next few days. I am disarranging my normal routine in the hope that a new and better one will fall into place. I feel the need for a new set of priorities. So the blog posts will appear, but only when the spirit moves me, or something really catches my eye. I have more and more arranged my affairs around blogging and I am finding that constraining. So I want to spend each day for a while doing other things besides blogging in order to see how blogging re-inserts itself into my routine. Just for a while I want to stroll about the city, read only what I feel like, for pleasure, not for review, tend my garden, look at things.
I recently went through the same realization about how constraining blogging habits can be. It's good to get out of that for a few weeks and get over the feeling that you "owe" a post or link.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy; we'll still be here.
Thank you. That is much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteFrank, may I first say, "Happy Birthday." At our age, however, such a salutation somehow does not sound pitch-perfect. I completely understand your desire to regroup and rethink blogging (among other things). I am facing a similar "rethinking" with respect to my teaching career, which may be coming to a close at the end of this semester (coincidental to another of my highly numbered birthdays). So, I wish you well. Take care. Keep in touch. Stroll, read, and tend the garden (the latter being Candide's perfect advice).
ReplyDeleteHi Frank,
ReplyDeleteYou made me think of Peggy Lee's Is That All There Is? with these words:
I said to myself, "Is that all there is to a blog?"
Is that all there is, is that all there is?
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing.
Let's break out the books and have a ball,
if that's all there is.
That's how it goes when you feel like reading. When you feel like philosophizing, it goes:
Let's break out the views and have a ball,
if that's all there is.
When you feel like writing poetry, it goes:
Let's break out the muse and have a ball,
if that's all there is.
When you're feeling down, they go like this:
Let's break out the blues and have a ball,
if that's all there is.
Yours,
Rus
Frank, I cannot believe you will be 68. Like my Allan, you look twenty years younger than your age. Must be all that clean living and deep thinking!
ReplyDeleteLet me take you out soon to honor your birthday. Feels like forever since I've heard your witty and ruthless views on life, the universe, and everything.
Call me or e- me!
Happy forthcoming birthday. Enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteAs to rethinking the blogging, that seems like a good idea. I think of blogging as something I do because I enjoy it, not because it's something I have to do. At our age (not much difference between us), I'd say that's the key. If that means blogging less and indulging in other activities more, then have at it.
It may be Jungian synchronicity that the word verification for this post is:
worke
Or maybe not.
Thank you R.T., Rus, Susan and Hedgie (yes, I think that is Jungian synchronicity - and a good omen).
ReplyDeleteWhat I said, Frank. As you know, I shut mine down altogether. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI think regrouping and re-prioritizing is a great thing to do; it's something that's good to do periodically, too. Not too long ago I went through a whole process of changing my focus and priorities, as well. (Of course, paradoxically I wrote on my blog about not wanting to write words much anymore.) I think cultivating one's own garden, either literally or the Voltairean sense, is always fruitful.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was writing on my blog about not wanting to write so much, I realized that I felt I had been forcing myself to live up to expectations about what I should write about, and how often, etc. I realized I felt like my writing felt like it had a strained ankle. LOL So it was time to do some mental crop rotation. Since then, I've been focusing heavily on writing music. I'm almost done with a new piece of music, the first I've notated in awhile, for male chorus and instruments; it's going to get performed in early December, so a good result came from all this.
I predict the same good results from your own mental crop rotation. We'll be around whenever you feel like chatting. :)
Frank,
ReplyDeleteMike Wallace said that his happiest and most productive decade was his 70s.
As a 57-year-old, I hope I have that coming for me and perhaps your 70s will be your best decade as well.
Happy Birthday.
Paul