Thinking Out Loud

Sometimes it helps to think out loud. I guess that is what this blogging thing is all about -people want other people to validate their thoughts, or at least hear their thoughts. They want the thoughts to be out of their head and real in the world. That sounds rather scary to me. I'm not quite so sure I want you to know what I think about, at least not all the time. But I have discovered in my short time around this planet that things seem so much more real when they are out in the open - out where others can hear them, see them, touch them, validate them.

We were out at Mother and Dad's place last week and for some reason, Mother drug out her huge 4" notebook that contains every single email I every sent home during our stay in Africa. I've known about the book for quite some time now, but hadn't bothered to look at it. The whole idea that every thought about Kenya I'd put on paper was kept in that book was a bit daunting. In fact, the reality that there was a permanent record of such things scared me a bit. But I got over it. I opened the book and casually read through some of the entries. It jogged my memory. I had flashbacks that took me back to the place or event I was describing - I could feel the muggy air, smell the body odor, see the shimmering ocean, touch the roughness of that mud hut wall. I was reminded of, and able to relive, the experience because it was written down. It was real - not a figment of my imagination, not something I thought existed but didn't. It actually happened and I can remember it, but only because I wrote it down.

Thinking out loud on a blog might be safe. Afterall, I'm not imposing my thoughts on anyone who doesn't want to know about them. If you are reading this, it is because you chose to. You have an interest in my thoughts and that is humbling. So, since you are here, you must not mind too much if I share. And maybe, just maybe, that will help us get to know one another just a little bit better.