A Word To My Friends

Every so often one needs a break, a change of routine. I've taken a little unannounced and, honestly, unplanned hiatus from my blogging. I had some personal issues I had to deal with, not the least of which was taking some extra time to just rest and relax. Also, I wanted some time to think about my blogging - do I still have the desire to blog? Have I gone as far as I should with my current blog? Is it worth the time I invest in blogging? In other words, should I quit altogether or just start a new blog with a new direction?

 

Okay, here is what I have come up with. My blogging is about having a place to vent or just roll out thoughts I am having in order to receive feedback from my esteemed cyber friends. Without my reader friends this endeavor would mostly be a waste. Looking back over my archives, I'm sure there are some posts I would probably not want to revisit; but mostly I see just a few things I wish I had handled or wrote differently. Overall I'm satisfied with what I've written.

 

You see, it's been a balancing act with me. I've straddled this fence between a romantic outlook on life and the so-called "scientific worldview." There are old posts where I expressed an unease with the trend towards reductionism as an end in itself and the resultant dwindling of life's enchantment. I've been uneven on this, I know. However, it seems to be my best experience that with a lot of things the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I won't give up the quest for scientific understanding, but at the same time I refuse to narrow my thinking to the point that I become an anti-religion fundamentalist in the same sense that I spent the first two decades of my life as a religious fundamentalist.

 

There are those on the science side who would attempt to limit the boundaries of what is acceptable to think about the same way there are religionists who want to arbitrarily limit certain behaviors under the guise of righteousness and morality. I reject both approaches.

 

Now frankly, I've been heavy on the criticism of fundamentalist Christianity more so than other religions. The reason being that fundamentalist Christianity is the worldview I departed from in my young adulthood. That form of religion had a big impact on who I was and still affects me in subtle ways to this day. I evolved slowly to a more deistic understanding of God. Then later, as I drank deeply from the wells of information about scientific materialism and atheology, I began to gravitate towards another type of fundamentalism.

 

But pendulums swing and reverse course. I slowly came back around to thinking deeply about the fact that there is something rather than nothing, that we are part of a grand cosmos, which Merriam-Webster defines as "an orderly harmonious systematic universe." Is this by accident or "design"? I don't pretend to have the final answer to that question. I'm more than willing to accept either conclusion in the end. But I deeply enjoy studying this fascinating world of ours and the interesting people in it. And the greater universe (or multiverse?) is still yielding further secrets and mysteries the deeper we probe. I honestly find myself coming back around to a religiosity - or as it is becoming more fashionable to speak of it, spirituality - that I find both personally satisfying and uplifting Dogma (religious or secular) interests me not at all, But the freedom to think freely for myself without the need to hold fast to any orthodoxy is exhilarating. I think this blog with its open-ended theme is more than suitable as a forum for this.

 

I'm proud of the fact that my readers come with various outlooks, spiritual, atheist, agnostic, etc.  I wouldn't want it any other way. I've nothing to sell and am not trying to organize a church or society, so this can be a place where we can interchange ideas and criticisms and perhaps have some fun and gain some insight in the process. No sacred cows are allowed and no idea is off limits of discussion, at least so far as I'm concerned.

 

I have toned down my political thoughts, however. Today perhaps more than ever the lines of political philosophy are severely and distinctly drawn and this in a way that I think is unhealthy. There is not enough room for disagreement and compromise. Politics has become too religious and religion has become too political. Our current political system is outrageously corrupt and I tire of having my intelligence insulted by the "spinmeisters" be they on the right or the left. I feel the need now to just focus on the individual issues and how they are being addressed rather than becoming a partisan. Over and over I've watched people toe a party line when it was obvious that deep down they thought more broadly about things than their political orthodoxy would allow. 

 

Through it all I just want to exercise my right to think for myself. I want the freedom to doubt and question even those who are considered authorities. Being wrong in thought is not a crime or sin. Following the crowd or being peer-pressured into acceptance without thinking for one's self ought to be considered a personal sin. What is also extremely objectionable is the intolerance of the "orthodox" thinkers against those who hear the beat of a different drum. The grand story is still in the process of being written. There is still much to be learned. Every age seems enlightened to itself, and only after the passing of centuries is that arrogant assumption adequately taken to task.

 

Finally, I have to decided at least for the time being to post less frequently. Perhaps not more than every other day or so. That isn't a hard and fast rule, though. I'm just quitting the daily blogging for now.  The blogosphere is a busy place. I have trouble keeping up my own blog and following my friends who have blogs. I'm sure that is a common problem. As most of you know, I am a bachelor who lives alone so I do have considerable free time for blogging. But I need to get away from the computer sometimes. I've enjoyed my little break, but I don't want to lose touch with my friends here. As always I welcome any feedback you folks might care to send along.