Monthly Archives: February 2013

On Pens, Paper, & Honesty

I love my iPhone and all of the apps that help me communicate, manage my day, or entertain me during my free time. But I love my pens and paper even more, and if I have the choice, they are going to win almost every time.

via There's An App For That … And I Don't Want It — The Pen Addict.

I, too, choose paper for many, many, things for and for many of the same reasons. I love writing with pen and paper and, for certain things like my task lists, paper works far better for me. I have tried to keep a task list digitally but pen and paper are always my sensible default.

You see, tasks on paper keep me accountable. It is physical. It’s in my face. Left on my desk I can’t ignore it. Every time it catches my glance it taunts me. Waiting. Wanting.

Digital lists are where tasks are easily forgotten for me. They become yet another junk drawer to hide the mess of an all too complicated and busy life. This is not to say they don’t have their time and place. I occasionally will switch to one on the rare occasions the paper is not enough to manage it all.

That said, I always switch back to pen and paper for such things as soon as I can. They keep me honest.

Your free will donation of any amount helps to support a full-time independent writer. Thanks for reading!

The Fear

I used to be afraid of posting here daily.

I was afraid what I have to say would not be good enough.
I was afraid that people would make fun of me.
I was afraid no one was reading anyway.
I was afraid I’d never be able to keep up.
I was afraid it was too hard.
I was afraid I would not find the time.
I was afraid I did not have enough ideas in me to write about.
I was afraid that I would miss a day (or two, or three) and let people — especially myself — down.
I was afraid no one would care — myself included — if I did.
I was afraid I would fail.

Interestingly, I still have all the same fears. The difference now is that I face each one and do it despite them.

Your free will donation of any amount helps to support a full-time independent writer in his daily battle against the fear. Thanks for reading!

The Truth About Truth

What is truth anyway?

We all know it when we see it. At least we think we do. But what we often call truth is merely consensus. We should always be wary of confusing the two.

For instance, you can’t have an argument with someone who fundamentally believes that the sky is red. The reason they believe this is because the color that everyone else calls blue, they call red. No matter how much you argue with them, or show them examples, or find other people to back the fact that the sky is blue and not red, as long as they believe blue is red you can’t have a rational conversation about the color of the sky.

But here, you are not arguing about the truth (though you both likely believe you are). You are arguing about consensus. What is at stake? Who does it harm, really, if that lone outsider calls the sky red, or orange, or purple?

The truth is really that thing that you can’t deny. That thing for which, all names aside, there can be no disagreement. Let’s all work better at coming to agreement and consensus (or agree to disagree) around that which is, in fact, perception so that we can have more truthful discussion.