Thoughts

August 5, 2008

Although I’m at post 12 of x365 today, I have “written ahead” and am into early September with posts in a queue waiting for the appropriate moments when they will “go live”. This may not be the classic method for x365; perhaps the real exercise is forcing a new post each day. This style would not work for me. I’m finding that the posts take time and inspiration; luxuries that come at odd times forcing me to take advantage when I can.

I’m writing about people in a predictably unpredictable order, hopping from my youth to my present, from the “quick and the dead” (love that phrase from the Nicene Creed before it was re-written to “living and the dead”), and from the barely known to those who continue to impact my life in a major way. The process of writing 40 posts to date continues to teach me worthwhile lessons.

Insert: Speaking of the Nicene Creed, I am not an Episcopalian but I attended an Episcopal Boarding School for 3 years and sat through hundreds of readings of the creed in chapel. I listen to the creed and am transported back, way back in time to a place where youthful innocence flourished. A chant burned into my brain; this aural memory is blog fodder for my other site.

1. When I first started the Remembering blog, I hoped my words would stand un-edited. I wanted to feel free to say anything in my 53 (or 54) words. This is not possible although I observe that some posts are more raw than others. I constantly remind myself that people will read my words; this is not a private diary. Some participants in the x365 consciously avoid writing about anyone in their family or big players in their current lives for this reason. I plan to write about family; already have. I don’t want to offend by my brevity. A seemingly stray impression or remembrance, quite possibly the most trivial of memories may take center stage in my post and leave those who read it asking a collective, “Huh?”. I guess this comes with the turf.

2. The word limitation is a challenge. Many times I wish there were just a few more words I could buy to drive my impressions home (not a lot, just a few). The exercise is a lesson in the careful selection of words. I see that some posts don’t begin to capture the “who” of the person I’m putting in the spotlight that day. That’s OK, I say. I can always go back an write an entire essay (or book) about that later. Hah!

3. I do know a lot of people; 365 is nothing. Sure, I’ll be dredging up some that have been in my life for mere moments in the grand scheme of time and those that have passed on but the incredible observation is: All people leave an impression. My feeling that we don’t ever cross paths with another by chance is confirmed. There’s always something else about our overlapping moments, days, or years that is supposed to be. What these associations mean is a topic deserving of a lengthy tome for another time.

4. A final early observation about this writing project is that the exercise forces me to excavate memories, process them, and give them new voice (albeit brief!) and in that, I take great excitement.

Pressing on.