My relationship to journaling and blogging online has had regular shifts. In 1997, i recorded my daily reflections for my Zen teacher. Over time, this shifted to a series of entries intended for friends who were curious as to what was going on in my head and in my life. These early versions were simply intended for a small collection of people, not for the masses. At some point, i started maintaining a collection of interesting things that i was reading and recording those online. As blogging emerged, i was annoyed at having two separate recordings and shifted to a public, semi-personal (but with very little detail) archive of random segments of my life. The purpose was never particularly clear, but the usefulness of it was. Regardless of who else used my ramblings, their searchability made them a great resource for me to regularly access bits of interest.

Well, it’s time for a new version to emerge. In part, this is intentional. For the last nine months, i’ve been living a fairly hedonistic lifestyle (and loving every moment of it). But in conversation yesterday with one of my favorite people, i realized how mushy my brain has become and how i rarely exercise its usefulness. In addition, my ability to articulate thoughts on paper is sorely unpracticed and i’m finding writing utterly painful. Thus, a new mid-year resolve: in addition to random useful links, i will attempt to record my reflections on the various ideas that pass through my head. The purpose is primarily theraputic. I need to get more accustomed to writing and more comfortable in generating organized thoughts. Like any of my online ramblings, i don’t care if anyone reads them or comments on them, but i always welcome challenging thoughts in return.