Thursday, February 26, 2009

Pieces to the Puzzle

It’s time to put up something new; more than a week has passed since this space has received any of my attention. It’s not as though my pen (or its cyber-equivalent) has been silent. I have been busy with much and although some of my musings have been transformed to the written word, they were for projects separate from this blog. Oddly enough, however, these and other moments of inspiration are profoundly connected to many of the discoveries I’ve made here over the last three-plus years. The many aspects of my life that have so neatly dove-tailed makes me wonder anew…

What’s it all mean?

The answer is, of course, everything and nothing… everywhere and nowhere… always and never. That ethereal “something” is ever elusive but at moments will appear for just a split-second - and then always just out of reach. And I know that the eternal truth, the absolute essence of what is, what was and what will be can never be captured. But striving after it never grows old and these glimpses of the totality of the human experience are enough to propel me with renewed enthusiasm to seek what is possible, to unravel what we have already witnessed and to welcome what lies ahead.

Everyone is unique, although no one’s discrete experience, single characteristic or specific position is. It is the infinite combinations of these shared entities that make each one of us an individual. Although statistical information as it applies to groups of individuals can give us an overview of who we are, none of that is relevant when it comes to who I am… each of us has an identity that is wholly and uniquely our own. The human experience is infinite because it has been composed of so many individuals, past and present, whose perception has been formed by the components, no matter how universally experienced, that individually make up each one of us.

For a communication scholar, the possibilities are endless. Does one focus on demographic data, on statistical analysis and surveys that give us a macro sense of what our society is? Or do I concentrate my attention on the individual, trying to understand how just one person views the world, and why? Are we identified by our similarities or our differences? How do I view myself? This is a question that many struggle with at some point or another. This is, in part, a quest to discover just who I am.

And it is also an exercise in becoming who I am. As each day passes, new experiences enter my world that will alter, usually quietly, that which makes me who I am. The more in tune I am with that process, the more I notice and the more I notice, the greater the amazement becomes. Perhaps it is that wonder that I am chasing - the excitement of what lies just beyond the next turn. It is a never-ending process of discovery, of invention and of re-invention and the more that falls into place, the bigger the puzzle gets.

And then it’s a hunt to find more pieces.

11 comments:

utenzi said...

Netchick sent me over to see you, Mike.

It's admirable that you're so open to new experience. We're of a similar age and I find it easier and easier as I get older to just think that it's all the same. Perhaps it's time to open my eyes wide once again.

carmilevy said...

Hi Mike. Popped over from Tanya's to nod my absolute concurrence with this entry. Every time I stare at a blank screen, I find myself following a similar thought process. What route to take. What angles to take. What questions to ask. What to do with the answers once I've got 'em...

I like knowing that it's completely up to me to decide what path to take. It's a feeling of immense freedom, which makes me glad I was born with this gift of piecing it all together.

Speaking of which, deadlines await...

craziequeen said...

Hi Mike, just tripped over from Tanya's to say hello and see what you are mulling over this week.

Everybody's life is a jumbo jigsaw. Birth is all the pieces onto a big empty table with a million options on how we progress with putting the magic together, with pieces slotting in, even those with the horribly jagged edges.

Once we have completed our jigsaw puzzle, the end of our live is marked by the placing of the last piece.

cq

Michael K. Althouse said...

CQ,

That is inspired!

Anonymous said...

Mike. I like what you have to say here. Your blog always speaks the truth, and I respect you because you tell it.

I think that everyone who blogs deals with the thought process you describe. Thanks for letting me know that I'm not the only one!

Jean-Luc Picard said...

Everything is like a giant jigsaw. The problem is when we find there are a few pieces missing.

NetChick sent me here.

Man Named Kim said...

came here on my own, today. but these comments remind me i need to drop by NetChick.

thanks for sharing - as you do - so openly and clearly. got me thinking, Mike.

Monica said...

Netchick sent me ... at first I thought we had the same last name. However we are off by one letter. I'm Allshouse.

I've certainly dealt with the same thought process when staring at a blank screen myself.

Have a great weekend

Monica

Anonymous said...

"The unexamined life is not worth living."

Glad to find that there are people examining as carefully as you seem to be. I need to carve out more time for examination, myself.

Netchick sent me.

C.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mike. Netchick sent me today. As I read your post, I had to ponder your words a bit. It made me think about whenever I start to write a new piece of music, I have to start with that blank screen. Sometimes, it might just be something that happens outside my window on the busy city street that might inspire the moment. Or my dog looking up at me with a certain look. Whatever it is, it is always different. And it's always good to try to scramble my thoughts a bit so that I'm not starting from the same place every time.

I love the way you write. It always inspires me! Hope you have a great weekend.

Julie Wright said...

The fun of a puzzle is putting its pieces together. Once it's finished, so is the enjoyment.

Maybe the worst thing in life would be omniscience.

So to hell with the big picture, and keep on puzzling.

(I am glad you found my blog--thanks to Tanya's Net Chickery--so that I may find yours and plug one more piece into the puzzle that is my life's experience.)