of comments and criticisms... and disgruntled deities

A friend of mine told me that I seem to really have angered the gods with my last post or two! I want to take a minute to post, briefly, on the state of the comments recently so I hope you'll indulge me.

1. Thank you to absolutely everyone that has emailed, called, chatted, and posted comments in response to my blog posts.

2. If you haven't checked out the Comments sections of the latest posts - you're missing out! There's been a lot of really good dialogue going on in there. I encourage you to stop by, read a few, and even leave one - or five - of your own at the "muse's descent". ;-)

3. As I've said before, I hope - many years from now when I'm all growed up - that I can take these writings and make them into a book. Whether or not this book will be solely academic (for use in my masters' thesis or dissertation), I haven't been able to decide on. What I know is that every time someone leaves a comment that challenges what I've written, it is incredibly helpful to me. You, the reader, are not just an audience to me - but you're sharing in the experience, journey, and expression. When someone posts a comment and tells me that they disagree with one point or another, think I'm wrong in something, tell me my argument is "soft" at here or there... it's like free editing!

Several commenters have offered up criticisms and challenges that have shown me where I need to be more clear, where I need to rethink my thinking, where I need to improve my delivery, etc. I am listening to your comments - even when I'm responding to them.

I want you to know that I am personally invested in responding to every comment posted to my blog. I read them very carefully. I think about them and meditate on them. And then I respond to them. But all of them affect me and directly affect future posts and the future finished work I hope these writings will become.

I will say - for the sake of saying it - that some of the comments have had a "mocking" or (what I took to be) a "snarky" tone. It's hard not to be discouraged by that. But I would rather have a snarky and anonymous criticism in full view of everyone than a "behind-the-back" criticism that I don't even get to learn from or respond to.

My father-in-law, in trying (successfully) to encourage me when I came home from work tonight, reminded me that it's ok if "the gods must be angry" is a failed post (either in its accuracy or delivery on my part or its reception on the part of the reader). As a writer and historian, I should expect to have some of what I write fall flat. As a teacher, my wife doesn't always succeed with her students. As a programmer, my father-in-law doesn't always write code that works. As a professional in any field there is bound to be failure. What makes us decent, reasonable, and compassionate as humans is that we can be all of those things to others in spite of their failure - and as a determination not to fail in our own responsibilities to be decent, reasonable, and compassionate people.

So let that be a challenge to any reader: if what I've written sounds arrogant or haughty, or doesn't seem factual, or doesn't jibe, or doesn't make sense, or whatever... don't tune out! Help me! I promise to listen and learn from you because - if you're speaking the truth - it's my truth too and that truth has my utmost loyalty.

Leave the light on.