at sixes and sevens

“Matter, which keeps souls apart, also brings them together.
It enables each of us to have an ‘outside’ as well as an ‘inside,’
so that what are acts of will and thought for you
are noises and glances for me;
you are enabled not only to be, but to appear:
and hence I have the pleasure of making
your acquaintance.”

~ C. S. Lewis, Divine Omnipotence.

As June dovetails into July, so the blog traverses yet another anniversary. My journals, known only to me, extend now to nineteen years. This month, La Vie Graphite reaches the seven year mark. Intact, and yet evolving. Though my gratitude, both for writing and for those who are reading, abides throughout the year, this annual occasion permits for an opportunity to make this an emphasis.

Seven years of ‘Graphite, through all varieties of New England weather, travels abroad as well as down the road, and myriads of daily lunch breaks, my increased shelves of filled notebooks provide archival testimonial. The longform voyage of written continuum, through every season, is a ceaseless fount of observation and initiative. On many occasions in these pages, I’ve emphasized the great worth of the quiet and sure witness of the written word. In the process, those who honestly write their days are also compiling their histories. Continuing to write remains as vital to me as self-care, gainful work, reflective reading, and all the other inclusive components that bring the spiritual to living. Writing, and knowing that others are also writing, contributes to lasting encouragement. I hope these pages have been part of your encouragements as well.

The eighth year of this blog begins without hesitation. As naturally as waking each morning, ideas and texts are ever in their formation. Along with my gratitude for the readers of this blog is an equal thanks for the readers who also blog. In that spirit, I’m always interested in good reading, and hope you will continue to share your recommendations. As for readership, my hope is for these essays to reach a wider and increasingly responsive audience. The blogosphere, fluid and abundant as it is, challenges writers who hope to cultivate a depth of personal work while remaining up-to-date. We all know quite well about the fickle and amnesic tendencies of the internet, not to mention the present culture. Yet, amidst this context, many of us persevere in our preferences of what is real- as opposed to the virtual, in terms of friendships, faith, creativity, and craft. Indeed, many of us must reconcile an increasing array of contrasts, and such reconciliation is a contemporary survival skill.

There is a future of ideas and adventures yet to discover and document. Similarly to my numerous visits in libraries, there are always and ever more tomes I’ve still to read. There isn’t a deficit of horizons, anywhere as much as a shortage of time. Navigating through narrow passages of hours causes me to work with pinched parcels of time for reading and writing. If I could exceed more essays per month, without hurrying the creative process, I certainly would do so. But as with journal writing, there are neither deadlines nor rigid rules. So, continuity and commitment will have to suffice, albeit at occasionally slower paces. On with year number eight, and here’s to reading, writing, kindredship, and craft. Pencils are sharpened, pens are freshly inked, and typewriters are calibrated.