Stardate: -316732.9

I started graduate school three weeks ago. The reshuffling of my schedule since then, coupled with the fact that Bethany started working full-time at about the same time, makes it clear in retrospect that blogging got lost in the process.

I've said it before that even all the best intentions can't necessarily get me to blog regularly. And because I believe that blogging, for me, is about more than freedom of expression, or the ability to communicate with people who care about me, I'm going to make blogging a priority. This is being encouraged by one of my spiritual formation classes, Spiritual Life, in which we talk about spiritual disciplines and are strongly pushed to take up at least one regular discipline for the duration of the semester.

Now before you wonder in your mind how blogging ever came to be considered a spiritual discipline, let me explain. Our professor described how there are different traditions of spirituality (or Christianity, if you will). One of these traditions, and the one that I am focusing on this semester, is the incarnational tradition. In this tradition, spirituality is discovered through the everydayness of life. That means that any activity that can be God-centered is fair game. Writing, artistic expression, experiencing nature, music, short little prayers that you say throughout the day, time with family and friends, or anything else you can think of.

So what is blogging about for me? Blogging is not only me conversing with God casually. It is developing my mind, my ability to communicate my thoughts, and ultimately, using a gift that God has given me. It's about more than what some would call philosophy. It's about the idea that even if no one else is ever affected by my writing, I write and I am changed. Through writing, all of my thoughts that would otherwise be simmering under the surface, are let out so I can use them. Blogging is a huge technological opportunity, because it means that even if I never get a book, essay, or article published, I still have an outlet, a means of communicating my thoughts. If other people benefit at all from what I write, that's wonderful also.

One note: Most of the aforementioned posts to come will probably be found on my profundus sententia (profound thoughts) blog. See the link in the left sidebar if you don't have it already.