Welcome to David's Diatribes/McConnachie's Meanderings

Hello....I must be writing.

Welcome to the first iteration of this blog, affectionately titled David's Diatribes & McConnachie's Meanderings.

I've been using Facebook - and abusing my friends - as a place to write, expound, or simply get things off my chest. But the 420 character limit isn't expansive enough for all my BS.

For the last few years, I been bugged by many, including a wonderful ex-wife who shall remain nameless, to start writing down my thoughts in one place. Now, while I'm more than happy to send a long note and/or email...and though writing has been my meal ticket and personal refuge for longer than I care to imagine, I've been very hesitant, reticent you might say, to start a blog for my own, personal purposes.

I've been traveling an spiritual explorer's path for a while now, bouncing back and forth like a kid in a candy store. I've been particularly interested in the Buddhist perspective on attachment and ego, and have been working to free myself of both. However, I've also been exploring my creative side in the same period and came against a rubicon that I did not want to cross.

By day I was a humble self-reflecting spiritualist, wandering and wondering in equal measure. By night I'd morph into Henry Miller....not exactly the embodiment of ego-free living. It's an old problem. Rumi said it best: "Man is like a donkey with angel's wings...we aspire to fly but, by our very nature, are condemned to stay earthbound. And we lament."

So, dear reader, I was caught between two poles. One said I didn't need to cultivate things that feed my ego....and yet we live in a world were ego is required simply to survive because so many others live ego to its fullest. I always asked: "Does the Dalai Lama have a blog?"

But, more recently, I've been struck by an image....a family tree and a stunted branch. Questions about this ancestors...and few answers. As a mid-aged man with no children, that branch is me. And I realized that perhaps, at some point in the future, someone with an interest in genealogy in general, and my family in particular, would start exploring that family tree and start wondering about that stunted branch.

What was he like? What did he like? What did he do? When, where, how and why?

Thus, in spite of my reticence and against the wishes of my inner hermit, I've taken the advice and started this blog.

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What to expect? Not really sure. I like to write, have a lot of things to say, but really don't want to be buttoned down to a hard-and-fast schedule.

I won't write with the expectation that it will be read. My purpose is to help that family tree climber....and give myself some space with lots of characters to write what I feel.

Topics will be general and broad in scope; that's my preference. It will be heavy in spiritual thoughts, politics, life, news, culture and entertainment. I will try to focus on good news, good deed and making it a good read.

It will not be appropriate for children. I will not edit my thoughts except for clarity (and spelling). I want - check that, I need - a blank canvas...and this is as good as it gets.

I hope it fills the need. Heck, it already has.

Until next time...keep your chin up and your stick down.

David