O Me! O Life!

O ME! O life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew'd,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring-What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.
That you are here-that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.



The above poem, by Walt Whitman, is the first in the category Poems, Prayers, and Promises (yes, I am a John Denver fan). Every Monday I will post some.. "things that we believe in!"

Not What I Expected

So I launched my blog today, after a couple weeks of investigation. I thought I would begin this weekend, but I am home sick, with a sick kid and a sick dog. Despite the sickness, I am excited to do this and feel like (to quote Steve Martin's character in The Jerk), "I am somebody!"

First Post

Welcome to my blog. Thoreau once wrote:

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.

I shall keep his admonishment in mind as I sit down to write. I do not intend, however, to write as a substitute for living. On the contrary, I have stood up for quite some time, and will continue to stand and live. I just want to sit and write as a way to invite you to stand with me.