I just started reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. In the opening chapters, author Robert Pirsig expresses his belief that motorcycling is much better than driving a car because the shell separating the rider from nature is removed. You're in the elements, and what seems like boring farmland or plains becomes more immediate because of the feeling of the wind at your back.
Pirsig also reflects on the difference between doing work yourself versus having work done. He had an experience where he went to a service shop and the mechanics butchered what should have been a simple procedure. He felt that it was because the mechanic had something separating him and the bike he was working on, as it was just another job to him. Pirsig began taking care of his own motorcycle, and as a result he could always tell when something wasn't right, whereas his friend left it up to chance even on a long trip, having faith that his mechanic did everything correctly.
I know it's not exactly along the same lines, but I want to go down a road of my own here. I consume so much media on a daily basis. I'm a podcast junkie. I love movie review podcasts, news podcasts, sports podcasts. I think podcasts are a brilliant way to get information. I also devour information on news and entertainment sites. I'm also an avid reader. My parents started me early, and I tend to feel a little itchy if I don't have a book going, even if I don't get to read as much as I used to.
The point is, I consume. I have subscriptions to podcasts (which mostly don't cost anything), streaming TV networks (which certainly do) and streaming music (also a monthly fee). I fill my head with a lot of other people's thoughts. I like hearing their points of view, but what about mine? I've done reviews on this blog, but they're usually a paragraph at most, and they don't really tell you a lot about me. They tell you if I liked something or I didn't.
I'm not making a resolution to write weekly or monthly. What I write may not even appear on this blog, but it's time to stop consuming and breathing all these things in without exhaling and releasing some of my own thoughts into the world.
