Welcome

Emerging from a depression is similar to waking up after a night of heavy drinking.   Nothing makes much sense and you’re vaguely aware that a number of people may be mad at you.   

Physically, the feeling is more like the first halfway decent day after a bout of the flu.    The heavy limbs, the aching joints, the ability to function with large amounts of analgesics, but barely.   For some reason in this state of mind I always feel the need to try something new, repeatedly (and misguidedly) blaming my mood on the circumstances of my life.   

Anyway, today I’m finally off the couch after yet another spell, and I’ve decided to set up this blog.   It’s not due to any great creative surge, rather it’s an idea I’ve had for a while, and today seemed to provide the perfect combination of enough functioning brain cells to excute it, combined with the physical urge to stay in one place for most of the day.

The idea for the blog stems from the Huston Smith quote above:  “The only thing good without qualification is extended vision, the enlargement of one’s understanding and awareness of what reality is ultimately like.”   It’s been a favorite of mine since college…I recently re-re-re-discovered it taped to the front of an old computer monitor.   Even though I hadn’t thought of it for maybe a year, I still find that it’s been behind almost every decision I’ve made in that time (the concept if not the actual words).    I do try to live my life out of a sense of endless curiosity, and considering the aforementioned depression, that’s probably the only reason I’m still here.   A college professor of mine used to say that the only reason he was still alive was to see what would happen next…that’s it, exactly.

The idea of this blog (she says to no one) is to focus on learning in a more formal manner,  educating as I go.   Like many people, I’d love to go back to school but, like many people, I don’t live a life that would allow that.   Also, I’d love to teach, but am far too shy.   So I spend a lot of time half-heartedly researching this or that, but giving very few topics the enforced study that’s demanded in college.   I’m hoping to use this blog as my own unforgiving professor, hovering over me with whiskey breath and  protruding nose hairs.   Perhaps (perhaps) more importantly I hope to educate others in the process.

My main area of interest is animals…animal rights, animal rescue, animal advocacy.   But any topic is fair game.   If this blog gets too cluttered I will divide it up into several more focused blogs, but for now I’m going to see how it evolves.   I’ll also be adding ads at some point, but all proceeds will go to supporting my animal rescue, Serenity Now Ranch (SeNoRa).

Typically the day *after* emerging from a depression is like the first really good day after the flu.   You don’t feel all that great physically, but are just so relieved to be fully functional again that normalcy is ecstasy.   It doesn’t last, but I’m expecting great things from tomorrow…