A blank sheet of paper is an infinite possibility.
There are innumerable stories that can be written here: romance, high sea adventure, intrigue, espionage. Something to lift the spirit or move to tears. A call to action or a nudge toward the cliff of despair. Boy meets girl, girl meets other boy--and the rest, as they say, is history.
Oh yes. Novels, short stories, poems, and essays, waiting to be plucked from the ether and committed to finite space. Infinite possibilities.
Or perhaps not.
Infinite possibility is not quite true. These words are limited as they creep across the emptiness of the page. They are limited by the writer: vocabulary, experience, knowledge of the subject, imagination. Choices have been made that have led to this point--choices that, in essence, control the very keystrokes. High sea adventure is out; romance, questionable at best. Dog stories and snippets of Southern life the norm. Nothing profound for the ages. A blog about nothing at its very best.
Doors have been opened and others have closed. Once passed through, there is no realistic possibility of return. Sometimes we are aware that we have passed through the door, sometimes not. But one thing is for certain: there are no "do-overs." The path continues until the final door is opened and then is slammed shut.
So what shall we write?
We write what we know, or at least what we think we know.
It is the best we can do with our limitations, and we hope someone will enjoy reading the words every once in a while.
We will write regardless. It's the activity of choice when we have the choice. Write and rewrite--and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite.
And every now and then, we get one right.
Questions of the heart
5 days ago
You get them all right.
ReplyDeleteYou are too kind, amigo.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I had the same thought as Mr. Zapata.. you get them all right! your blog about nothing is quite profound. Where do you get such inspiration over there in Opelika?
ReplyDeleteWell done, Ray. I take umbrage with one point. The one about doors. Slammed shut forever. One possibility that I see with that is that God is so infinite. Does life on this earth end forever? Do we not indeed participate in making the world anew? What about the new Jerusalem? Are we not one day going to take part in a grand renewal of all things. I wonder?
ReplyDeleteOutstanding, Ray!...one of, if not your best pieces ever.
ReplyDeleteI never cease to be amazed at what people like.
ReplyDeleteThanks Robert.
The final door in this life is, of course, death. And it will slam shut for everyone, unless Christ returns before we walk through it.
ReplyDeleteWe get reincarnated. Take it to the bank in Jerusalem.
ReplyDeleteIncarnational living is what God offers. Jesus came to earth as a man to redeem and restore. Reincarnation is not needed for eternity. That's why I questioned the comment about a door slammed shut forever. Who knows exactly the mind of God for our lives, our planet, our universe? I want to be part of renewing and restoring what was lost, just as Jesus started that with his birth and death. As far as taking it the bank in Jerusalem there will one day be a New Jerusalem. And who knows? A new Tegucigalpa? A new and restored Mexico? I don't know.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a "religious" essay. Whatever you two think about an after-life or lack thereof, I can speak with certainty that you are going to physically die. That's where everybody's path leads. The door on this life will shut. The path ends. Whether another path begins is up to you to decide.
ReplyDelete