Every now and then, I get to attend some ritual event: graduation, marriage, funeral. It could be the opening of a construction site or a celebration of a completed building. Some rituals strike me as odd things to do. Then, I got to thinking: rituals can be anything. I could throw salt over my shoulder to commemorate the day my female ancestors left Africa. (Just got my Geno 2.0 results and that stuff is on my mind.)
One of my rituals is writing every day. Usually, I have a post ready by bedtime and send it out the next morning. Yesterday was busy and I didn't spend much time writing. This morning, I combined some previous ideas and write. A friend wrote back that she too found since childhood that she did not enjoy getting in a permanent trance about what must be done next, to the point where there was a complete routine in which one took cover from change or threat and just worked all the time, always aware of what needs to be done next.
She made me think that I have always been interested in exploration, especially of the mind, since I found I could go places and mentally be people I had no chance to be be outside of reading. When I got my first library card at age 5 or 6, I realized that all knowledge and all experience was open to me. The experiences that can come from fiction cover worlds and roles not available in reality. Reality all by itself is "too big to know" (David Weinberger's book about today's knowledge, modern talk and their possibilities).
My curiosity has changed my reading habits. As I read Dorothy Crawford on biological viruses and what they mean for our bodies and our lives, or any book of interest, I need a computer handy. I keep rising from the recliner in the living room to use Google on the computer in the office to learn more about this idea or that scientist. The activity of reading has expanded into the regular use of computers, the internet and the Kindle's abilities to post on Twitter and keep highlighted portions of a book.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
