Ego + Journaling - Social Skills = Blogging

I was asked the other day if I kept a journal. I said that I blogged. This person's head tilted and asked, "Why do that? Is there anything personal about blogging? Isn't it all just 'out there'?"

Yes. Yes it is.

And for me, that is what makes blogging greater than journaling. Because it is out there for people to read keeping the blog fresh or posting new posts is vital. If it were not kept up then not only am I not journaling anything but also readers are not reading.

Thus anyone who stops by this humble blog is keeping me accountable to the discipline of journaling. It is almost as though, for me, blogging is journaling PLUS accountability.

And so, I blog in order to keep my mind working and looking for posts. I blog so that people can read and post so that I would keep blogging. This cycle keeps me from dropping the blog/journal discipline all together.

So for those of you out there who may feel guilty for not journaling, I submit that you try blogging. Your readers will keep you from dropping the discipline.

Mowing the grass is my spiritual discipline

So I got this mower that has rotating blades, something one might call an 'old timey' mower. I have noticed something in both times I have used it, mowing has become a spiritual discipline for me.

I grew up with a gas mower. Although it was self propelled, you could disengage that function and push it yourself. Regardless of how quick or slow I would walk, that mower would cut without fail.

This is not the case with 'old timey'. If you walk too quickly the blades move to fast and the grass cannot get in a position to be cut. If you move too slow the blades do not move fast enough and just bend the grass. You have to walk at controlled pace with intention.

It has become something I look forward to doing. Walking with intention and control. Hearing the blades glide making a shearing sound which functions like an "om" a Hindu might say in meditation.

Although I am sure the gas mower is faster, I also have come to discover that it also robbed me of something quite amazing. Walking with intention and control.

It is like I walk a labyrinth each time I mow the grass.

I better get going, the grass looks a little high...

Not evil enough for a beard but too lazy to shave...

Because I have been moving I have lost my razor and have not been able to shave. After a few days my facial hair has gotten past the 'itchy' part and is now not even something I am aware of.

Estee says she does not care if I have facial hair or not. Others have told me it is not something I can pull off. Others say it is not "me". Most do not have an opinion as they have lives and do not consider my facial hair a point of interest.

It turns out that I am not evil/cool/hip/in to X-games enough to sport any sort of facial hair. At the same time I am too lazy to shave.

What I need is for Tom Hanks to bust into a room, save uncover a church conspiracy, grow a mullet, and hand me a Mach 3.