I started posting essays about a year ago because I wanted to give myself an incentive to write more than rambling musings, to push myself to finish something I was prepared to share. I set a goal of getting one essay a month to that point for twelve months. Somehow, I managed to squeeze fourteen essays into a little over twelve months.
These essays have fallen into a pattern I didn’t really anticipate: most are some variation of “I went into nature and it made me think of something.” They were fun to write and I hope a few of you found some of them meaningful in some way. But I’ve gotten a little tired of the format and I’m interested in breaking out of the mold, writing something a little more layered and textured, even if it still starts with reflections on time spent out of doors.
One short essay a month isn’t that big a burden, but I have found that it gets in the way of letting my mind poke at one thing and then another and try different approaches on a subject; to go up random mountains and down rabbit holes until something feels right. So I’m freeing myself of that routine, hoping I can spin off in different directions, or at least deeper in the same direction.
I’ve already been up one mountain – literally – and followed a few rabbit holes suggested by that journey, and hope I can find something worth writing and sharing! But I’m giving myself the freedom to let that fester a while, so I don’t know when I will get something in a shape I’m happy with. So a pause until … I don’t know when, that’s what gives me freedom!
In the meantime, I’m still reading a lot, maybe too much. Perhaps I could finish more or longer or more evolved essays if I read less! I’ll keep condensing my thoughts about what I’ve read into a bite size summary and posting those on a regular basis. In fact, I’ll post another momentarily.
Stay tuned, and keep your eyes open for the obscure and your mind open to illumination.