I’m a big fan of the American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886). She lived in relative solitude and wrote 1,800 poems, which were discovered and published after her death. I often wonder how she would have reacted to todays social media. Would she have changed her style of poetry and catered to adoring crowds and thousands of online followers. Would her observations of life be tarnished by the constant negativity of social media. I would like to think she would view our modern day taste for chasing celebrity status and followers with wry wit and observation and stay well above the frenzied crowd.
We are all searching to find our own voice, our true self. “Leading a life of quiet desperation” as Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) observed in his book ‘Walden’? Concerned with material possessions, continually searching for status, comparing ourselves to others? On this 1st day of January, 2021, I am spending the day in reflection and discernment trying to reevaluate my values and plans for the coming year. I am one of 7.8 billion souls trying to find a way to survive and thrive on this planet. This is one of 70 million new posts blogged daily on WordPress. All of us throwing words out into the nether sphere waiting to be read.
John Milton (1608-1674), most famous for writing ‘Paradise Lost’, asked the question ” Does God exact day labor, light denied?” He was going blind at the time and yet continued to write. He never blamed God for his trials, which was a common practice in those days, but accepted whatever came his way and got on with life the best he knew how. So today, January 1, 2021, I am starting this blog and will be doing the best I know how. However, I do not have a poetic soul and will stick mainly with prose. Happy New Year to one and all.
