One Year Later...

'We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still.' - Dr Carl Sagan 

It has been quite the journey, my dear, vociferous readers.

Some of you will know that, of course. Some of you will have noticed my winding path to a place I am yet to see with any clarity. Some of you are yet to share in my vision – if at all.

For those of you who have been with me all along... beyond the confines of this rather limiting form of expression. You know me far better than most. And far too well for simple words. But bear with me.

I have learned a lot, my friends. This blog began as a training regimen for my then dormant writing skills. And then it became something far greater – a challenge, a road less travelled, a way of knowing this crazy little world. It became a search for something more, a quest for dreams I can never know.

I have learned so much along the way. Too much to share through means as crude as words. But I know that I know far, far too little...

Nevertheless, I did discover certain bits and pieces of a larger truth I can call my own. And I got to know uncertainty in an entirely new fashion. I am now utterly convinced that to have blind faith in something is deeply wrong – to never change assumptions, beliefs, ideas, perceptions is nothing but a hindrance to becoming a greater human being. There are no final conclusions, I have come to think.

I know how deep bonds are forged. I know how much a true friend is worth. I know love is not the only answer, but it's a bloody good one. I know the people you care for are the ultimate frontier, the final scale of justice, balance and morality.

And I know far too much to say I know enough. But I know that there are lessons for all of us each and every day...

What did I learn recently, one might ask? Exempli gratia, I embraced whole-heartedly a principle I seemed to have forgotten: to judge another is a choice, not a necessity. Judge at your own peril...

Perhaps more importantly, I finally understood something I have always been reluctant to admit – that there is no tragedy to the deep turnings of this world. The strength to find meaning resides within us: we can make the choice. We are the ones who define and shape our own existence. There is no intrinsic tragedy – even if at times the Universe seems to be truly unforgiving.

Of course, this entire endeavour has amounted to a rather odd collection of random thoughts, musings and opinions. And it was inevitable that I would learn to trust my own judgement, wherever it may take me at times. Thus, I know something now that I failed to see a year ago... Even if the entire world would beg to differ, that does not mean you are the one who's wrong.

I will continue to try to see what lies beyond the immediately visible. There are far greater things that we may know that are dreamt of in our petty philosophy. We are capable of so much more...

But the choices we make are the dreams we can know. The choices not made are the stories untold. And the stories we make are the truths we have known.

Is the circle now complete, my dear, vociferous readers?