Not Entirely New to This Game

I feel as if I'm still trying to be too grand in what I'm writing here.  I've actually had three previous blogs... or the equivalent thereof on whichever social networking site I was on at the time.  I began writing notes, thoughts, rants, etc. when I first got on Myspace.  I enjoyed Myspace most for this, to be honest.  Yes, I admit, I loved being able to customize my page, but I loved being able to write and that my friends would comment on what I would write about.  I still have my Myspace account*... somewhere in cyberspace.  I have tried to access it on one or two occasions this last year, but can't remember the password and they don't seem to be able to send it to me for some reason.  Meh.  Oh well.

I joined Facebook back when it was still just for college students.  And the reason I joined?  Well, let me set the stage for you:

I am over spending some time with a new group of friends during my first semester of college. I'm in a discussion with about three to four of my friends, when another friend (we'll call him Steve) calls out, "Hey, Todd! When's your birthday?"

"Why?" I ask.

"I just need to know."

Uh-huh. Yeah. Right. As I come out and see Steve sitting at his laptop, I notice that he has an information screen up for creating a new Facebook page. I didn't even really know what it was, other than it was something to help you connect and stay connected with friends, but the last thing I was going to do was let Steve set up something on the web for me. I mean, come on... I was a computer science major at the time! Wouldn't do to have him setting it up for me.

I can't say that Facebook had me hooked at the beginning.  It wasn't as flashy as Myspace and customization was not really a large point, but it certainly worked well enough.  Then, I came to the realization that a lot of the trash that seemed to come up in Myspace didn't really exist on Facebook... and then I discovered that Facebook had added a "Note" feature, which essentially functioned like what I had been using on Myspace.  I would post to both pages for a while because I had friends on Myspace that weren't yet on Facebook, but as soon as most of them were on Facebook (which did eventually happen), I really never went back much after that.

After a few years, I finally got onto Blogger and began with the title "Dome of Stars."  I took it from a love of seeing the night sky, a love of the northern lights (which I want to see at least once in my life), and a love of The Lord of the Rings (The name Elrond literally means "vault of stars/dome of stars", and Elrond is one of my favorite characters from that series).  I tried a few things but really didn't do much with it.  I started a project (my Tuesdays With Morrie section), but never went through with all of it.  I'm hoping to re-do and complete that project, but that is (for the moment) not a priority.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, brings us to where we are now in my online writing career... if for some reason you had any inkling to know.

*I have since been able to access and save to my computer any of the posts that used to be on my Myspace blog before I closed out the account.  I also counted the posts that I have made between both my Myspace and Facebook accounts.  I counted over 56!  I was a little surprised, though a number of them were just re-posting things I found interesting.  But still!  :)

New Goals and Thoughts

I have made it a goal for myself to post at least one item every week for the next undetermined period of time.  (To the end of this year at least.)  I've also begun a class/program in which I have promised myself that I will write at least a paragraph and more every day.  I've finally begun regularly using a notepad holder that my wife gave me a few years ago and when I am done with my writing today will have a full week of this practice under my belt.

I LOVE writing!  I feel that it is the one medium that I seem to have a little bit of talent in.  Oftentimes, I am pleasantly surprised when I go back and take a look at things that I have previously written and I find words and descriptions that I can actually say that I am proud of.  I was going through the process of closing out my old Myspace account a few days ago (I haven't used it in years) and came across a number of decent posts.  I took the time to copy and save them to my computer so that I can keep them.  Many of them are, for me, like a reminder of what I was doing and thinking during the time that I was posting there.  Others were just quotes that I had liked and threw them up so that I could share them with my friends and anyone else who might stumble across my page.

I would like to post a quote that I found in my cleaning out process and make a few comments of my own on the idea:

"Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth in pleasure, and much besides.  Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure but guilded brass, which corrodes in the hand, and is soon converted into poisonous verdigris.  Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, rough or polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure is as the paste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished.  Happiness is as the ruby, red as the heart's blood, hard and enduring; pleasure, as stained glass, soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty. 

"Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up the body and generates energy for action, physical, mental and spiritual; pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like spiritous drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady. 

"Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no remorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition, and suffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation and destruction. 

"True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present source of anguish. 

"Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-minded mirth.  It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul, and is not infrequently accompanied by tears.  Have you never been so happy that you have had to weep?  I have."  

-James E. Talmage (Quoted from Jesus the Christ)

I will readily admit right now that I am a religious person.  I am a Christian.  I thought that this quote is powerful because it addresses something that I think I need to work on and that I think much of the world could benefit from taking a little time to contemplate.

Everyone has been blessed with this life.  All have been given the opportunity and gift to decide how to use the time that goes with it.  What am I going to do with my time?  What will anyone do with his or her time?

From looking at this quote, I think that Elder Talmage is teaching that there are some things that are worth pursuing in life while other things are best left alone.  If people seek after those things that are truly fulfilling and bring true and lasting happiness, they will be living a life that is not only a joy to live, but one which they will also not need to regret.  Happiness can be real.  I think that most people truly are seeking after real happiness.  The question is, how does one find it?  I submit that "Happiness in ... life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."  (From "The Family:  A Proclamation to the World")  Now, this doesn't mean that one has to live life like a monk or seclude his or herself in a religious community.  The Savior taught how to live in and be a part of the world, along with how not to partake of those things that Elder Talmage has described above as "pleasures."  I enjoy writing.  I find happiness and joy in this.  I also enjoy reading from a wide variety of sources (though I admit that I like fantasy and like to be made to think things through).  I enjoy movies, plays, the arts, games and many other things besides.  The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches morals and gives people a compass with which they can direct their lives.  It gives a person something with which an individual can gauge any pursuit and help in deciding if that thing is worth doing.  I have heard that many people view religion as restrictive and that it keeps one from enjoying life to the fullest.  I think often of a short story that I heard once.

A young boy went out one day with his father to fly a kite.  They went to an open field with plenty of room and a good breeze.  The father helped the boy get the kite into the air and not too long after, the kite was out as far as it could go.  The father was holding the kite's string and the boy said, "Let the kite go!  Let it fly higher!"  The father then showed his son that if he were to let the kite go, it would actually fall to the earth.  The kite string, which appears to be restricting how high the kite can fly, is actually the thing that is keeping it flying in the sky.

 It is the same with many of the "restrictions" of religion.  In my experience, the rules and values that are given are not there to tie one down, but rather to enable that person to become a strong and principled person.  One who can truly stand on their own.

Why An Elegant Weapon?

"An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age."
-Old Ben Kenobi/Obi-Wan Kenobi

I am in the process of changing my blog page and decided that I did not like my previous title.  I always have the most difficult time deciding what to call things.  (Honestly, I really think too much about it and possibly put too much effort into something that should just be simple.)  I wanted something that reflects on me, but wouldn't limit what kind of things I can write.  The quote at the top is what I came up with.  The title is "An Elegant Weapon."

Now, for those of you who may not be very familiar with the Star Wars movies, this quote comes from a conversation between Ben Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.  Kenobi is giving Luke his father's lightsaber and has to explain what it is.  As he completes his explanation, he finishes with this phrase to describe the lightsaber.

I liked this title for a few reasons.  One, I love Star Wars.  I love the world (universe?) that has come from the movies.  Two, Obi-Wan has always been one of my favorite characters, so, why not use one of his quotes.  I usually tend to like the mentor characters in books, movies, and shows, but I'll cover that in a later blog.  Three, I can use the title, "An Elegant Weapon", to refer to my words.  Words and the written language are a powerful tool and/or weapon in proficient hands.  Now, I do not claim to be particularly proficient in my writing skills.  I think I have some ability and it has been a goal of mine since about my junior year of high school to be able to express myself in a way that others would be able to understand whatever point or thought I was trying to get across.  I think I have done a decent job in accomplishing this, but would like to continue to develop this talent.  The only way to do so is to practice, so, I need to write.

Now, if I am completely honest, I have also been a little envious of a friend of mine who has been posting regularly to his own blog for a number of years now.  I think that it is impressive that he has stuck to his posting and now has quite a library of things that he has written.  Now, not all of them are masterworks... Many of them are rants... A number of them make excellent points... Others poke fun at things (and sometimes actually happen)... But after all is said and done, I enjoy many of his posts and would like to make the effort to have a blog that I post to on a regular basis.

So, I begin anew.