The Same, Only Different — Musings on Writing and Repeating Ourselves

Whereas I often ”try” to write about a wide range of topics, truth is that I typically end up back on the same few subjects, repeating and redigesting thoughts I’ve already had... in some version, and trying to look at a subject or challenge from a new perspective.

For those of us who ”think a lot” (or, possibly, too much) some things remain eternally fascinating.

What's on the other side?

For me, that tends to involve the human psyche, potential and the overall thing we call ”life,” as well as some of my hobbies and a bit of food and travel. But mostly? It's LIFE.

I can’t honestly say that I think I will ever be ”done” with that topic... at least not in the way we might declare ourselves ”done” with an article on how to build the best fire for a cookout, or make the perfect sandwich.

There are good reasons chefs keep on cooking, artists keep on creating and writers keep on writing... even though it might appear to all be ”much of a muchness” to the casual outside observer, the inner perspective is a constantly changing landscape from which new details emerge, every time we move a few feet in another direction, have a conversation with a stranger, read something or go for a walk.

There’s never a question of boredom involved in this equation. Writing is also how I problem solve, and perhaps the reason why I am often able to persevere and succeed at seemingly ”impossible” things, in spite of all sorts of ”good advice” to the contrary.

Sure, the latter may also be as simple as the fact that I can be stubborn! I admit that.

But there’s a lot more to it than mere stubbornness.

Recently, I mused on the fact that (the root of) Hive turned five years old in March, and with it the fact that it’s pretty broadly accepted that it takes five years to become an expert in the field of your choosing, if you apply yourself every day, eight or more hours a day.

Not trying to make some sort of parallel to Hive being ”expert,” just that five years tends to be a timeframe that establishes a person or thing as something more than a passing fancy.

Repetition may seem like mere repetition to some, but in many cases it is an essential part of the path towards mastery of something. We often like to think that mastery can be gained through magical and mystical flashes of brilliant talent and inspiration… but that’s a rarity. Typically, the recipe calls for hefty doses of patience and perseverance.

This is true pretty much across the board; consider that far more fortunes are made $10 at a time than are made through sudden instant windfalls. We just don't hear much about "getting rich slowly" because it's neither exciting not newsworthy, and oftentimes it sounds less "interesting" than watching paint dry.

So it is, with most things in life.

My interest in LIFE — at the meta level, not just MY life — has been a daily engagement since my teen years but whereas I may have gained a certain level of expertise, actual ”mastery” definitely eludes me, still. Which is why I often keep repeating myself and turning things this way and that in my head, hoping to gain new insights.

But that's the whole thing about interests, isn't it? When something really interests us and holds our attention we DO repeat, over and over and over. Not because we're boring/bored but because we are fully engaged. And being fully engaged — whether it's in gardening, building relationships, model railways or the study of life — strikes me as the most perfect path towards finding purpose, meaning and contentment.

Even if it seems like we're "repeating ourselves."

It's not because we didn't learn the first time, it's because we're endeavoring to learn more.

So keep on, keepin' on!

Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about YOU? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 20210408 19:02 PDT
0237/1480