Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The 500th Post - Enjoyment!

This is my 500th Enter the Rainbow post. Click here to read the first.

In January of 2005, when I started this blog, it was still a fairly new thing. It's funny to think of something that's only four years old as being old, but it feels that way. So it goes.

Why blog? What's the point? Why do I do it? Four years, 500 posts - there must be some purpose there, mustn't there?

Well, I'm reading Philip K. Dick's novel "Valis" at the moment and there's a line that really caught my attention toward the beginning of chapter 6. "Fat had no concept of enjoyment; he knew only meaning." ("Fat" is the hero of the book, Horselover Fat.)

So I've been thinking about that a lot, the relationship between enjoyment and meaning. And I think that sometimes in the search for meaning we forget to enjoy. Maybe we're so obsessed about being purpose driven that we forget to simply have a good time.

Another book I'm reading at the moment, called "Simple Church" advocates adopting a simple disciple-making process and then "abandoning" everything else that your church does. The softball team? The Wednesday night knitters? The arthritis excercise class? Really? Where's the fun in that?

I'm not sure I dig the idea that everything you do, individually or as a community, has to fall within the boundaries of a narrowly focused mission. I don't even think everything you do has to actually mean something. That's just exhausting.

And so there is no purpose for my blog. There is no meaning or mission statement or overarching vision.

I just enjoy it. I have for 500 posts, and I'll keep doing it until I don't enjoy it anymore. I hope you enjoy reading it; I really enjoy reading your comments. I enjoy the back-and-forth, hearing a bunch of different ideas. I enjoy seeing my ideas on screen and seeing how they have changed over time. I enjoy writing about the church, about my favorite sports teams, about theology, about my kids, about foster parenting, about social issues, about politics, and about nonsense.

I write this blog because I enjoy it. That's all. Thanks for reading!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I enjoy reading your blog :)
Thanks for encouraging me to blog--it only took 4 years!

revjimparsons said...

Thanks for your blog and congrats on the 500 mark.

Anonymous said...

Andy:

Congrats on the milestone! I will continue to enjoy reading as long as you continue to enjoy writing.

Best,
Joseph

kc bob said...

Happy 500th Andy!

Anonymous said...

Sweet! Against all logic, I have not read VALIS, but I have read "The Divine Invasion" and "The Transmigration of Timothy A. Archer." If you have not intended to, you should most definitely consider reading these two in order after you read VALIS. :-) They all will stand alone if you understand PKD's worldview, but I can only imagine that they will have new life if actually read as a "trilogy." I think I still have both if you want to borrow them.

Congrats on 500 blogs. I am with you, it's definitely something that I enjoy doing, just 'cause. But the feedback and the dialogue is what I enjoy most. As you say, "I believe that the conversation matters." :-)