Happy Anniversary

One year ago, I wrote my first article for my blog. At that time the goal was to try to write something every day for a year. I have come pretty close to reaching that goal. With the exception of twenty days or so, I have penned something for you to read.

Creating this volume of articles has been a bit like running a marathon.

In the beginning, it was rather easy. I had a lifetime of ideas and thoughts jumping out of my brain onto the computer keyboard.

As the year went on, there were times when it was a struggle. The ideas didn’t come as quickly. Just like an athlete has to dig deeper to find the oxygen needed to run, I scraped my mind for anecdotes to my life.

Like tonight, there were many times I was writing against the clock. It is 11:24 pm and I have until midnight to complete this. I haven’t much time to weigh each word.

Like a marathon, there have been times when I have wanted to give up. I forced myself to write something, anything, in order to keep on going. Like the crowd on the side of the course, sometimes your cheering me on has helped get through the difficult times.

As the runner is focused on his performance, I have done the same. I immerse myself in my writing. While I am aware of some people writing what I read, I really don’t know who is reading this, when they read it, and how they feel about it unless they leave a comment. I don’t think that Oprah has discovered my blog yet.

As I look back on the race, there are moments when I feel I have written very well. Some of it is pretty good. Some of it is not very good at all. I have felt a kinship with the people who write comic strips for a living. Every one doesn’t make me laugh every day.

Writing everyday and searching for something to say brings vulnerability. It is as if I am standing naked in front of the world and everybody has his or her clothes on. You know what I am thinking. I have no idea what your feelings are. You may disagree with my views on a lot of things. That’s ok. Part of my belief is that for this world to work, we have to respect the fact that people will have different ideas about a lot of things. I have worked almost 58 years to come up with my opinions. I have earned them honestly. I am still learning.

I have crossed the finish line today. I have accomplished my goal. I am tired, yet satisfied, that I have had the discipline to do what I set out to do. I still intend to keep on writing, but I will not try to write for the sake of writing. There may be a few more gaps.

Unlike a marathon, I don’t know whether I won a gold medal or not. The judging is more like diving or gymnastics. Regardless, I gave it my best and I am happy and proud of that.