All Things All At Once

Recently, all things all at once rushed into my head; it might have been the coffee.  I haven’t had coffee in some time, then I drank a few cups and sat down to write.  I realized recently that my true passion is writing.  Second, my second passion is taking pictures.  My passion for web design has taken a sharp decline after being overshadowed by my passions for both writing and photography.  All these things all at once suddenly hit me, snowballing in size, growing so enormous that I simply had to write them down.

I knew I wanted to be a writer from a very early age.  I remember learning how to write and craft short stories even before I was able to tie my own shoes.  I would sit under an old maple tree in my parents back yard and write for hours at a time.  I used to call it my dreaming tree.  Sadly, after moving out of my parents house and meeting the love of my life, the dreaming tree has died.

I spent the majority of my childhood writing in my notebook, charting my daily experiences, backwoods hikes, summertime camping trips, and things that I had learned in school.  As the years went by and I went to college, some suggested that instead of simply posting my ideas on the Internet, that I should sell my writing commercially.

Making a profit off of ones writing or photography is perhaps a dream come true to many, but for me, perhaps the greatest reward for writing is having someone read what I have written and gain some insight or personal benefit.  Ideally, when someone takes the time to comment about how they benefited from what I had written, and thus add to the written conversation, this is by far the ultimate reward for me.  Besides, it is better to share one’s writing, and documentation of the human experience than to release it only for purposes of financial gain.  Knowledge was meant to be free.

While yet another year comes to an end, I always look back on what I have accomplished during the year, and think of ways in which I could be more productive in the coming year.  I also take some time to look back on what I have accomplished in years gone by, to see how far I have come, and more importantly, how my life and work has evolved.  Human beings are constantly evolving, and our minds are always changing.  Instead of fighting change, we should embrace and document it.  What we think, feel, do, or say today will likely be much different many years from now.  My biggest regret is not documenting or photographing enough of my life in past years.

I remember years ago my family physician told me that I had my greatest gift in life was perseverance and that if there was anything I ever wanted to see, do, experience, or learn, that I would have the best chance of doing so because I’m not one to give up on anything if the opportunity exists.  I will never forget that.

Next year I hope to be even more productive, more methodical in my documentation, and more persistent in my photography.