Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Release

For a long, long time now I have had one quotation serve a gentle reminder at the bottom of all of my emails:

"Let the beauty we love be what we do." ~Rumi

When it comes to quotations, particularly those I sign my emails with and see a lot, I tend to be fickle. They last weeks, in rare cases months, until I grow bored, or until I seize on a quotation from something I read and want it around for inspiration or further rumination. This one from Rumi, though, came at a time in my life (I believe something like 2 or more years ago) where I was struggling for so many things and the desire for the reminder was pervasive: in love, in your job, in your friends, in your independence, even in how you comport yourself on a day to day basis -- remind yourself of the beauty you love and let that govern your choices. This, too, necessitates knowing what you find beauty in, giving an added level of depth to the missive. I never cease to get a light frisson when my eyes fall on the quotation -- even now.

That being said, I have finally reached my saturation point with seeing it. I crave newness. Part of it is feeling some accomplishment in finding and doing "the beauty I love" -- I'm ready for a new challenge. Read for a little badinage in my emails, a little extemporaneity (is that a word?? It is now! Hmmm...how fitting). Those of you who get missives from me, be prepared for some fluctuation in the signature line. I did, however, pay small homage to the Rumi quotation by adding it as my scrolling screen saver at work, perhaps one of the most relevant places for such a reminder.

As for this blog, which I have left fallow for such a long time: This post is indeed a sign of a renewal, though I make no promises as to how often and how consistent it will be. I do like writing on a public forum, and at this point I have read enough personal blogs to realize that even the mundane musings of the most random person can still be relevant and interesting, so I feel renewed comfort in tapping out my own maundering mundane musings again.

"Maundering," by the way, is my latest favorite word.

Happy New Year to you all.