Thinking Blogger?
Forgive me, but it has taken me a while to respond to an honor several of you have bestowed on me. You see, I’ve been nominated, on three (!?!) separate occasions, by three (!?!) of you for a...(ahem)...
wait for it...: “Thinking Blogger Award.”
I’ve never been one to accept compliments well. My typical response is either “Huh?” "Duh?" or, “What the Hell are you thinking!?!” (Or reasonable variants thereof).
Gillette waxed poetic: “...because Mr. Jonas is a poet extraordinaire, his posts lyrical beauty. He brings me back home to the Suchness of Life. His writings remind me of Beauty in grief, love, loss, geese, the body, music, faith, redemption, sitting with what is and the Dance of Life.”
Roads cited “a Chicago poet and philosopher who expresses the lyrical meaning of life, love and loss better than anyone I know...”
And, Buddha presented his criteria along with his praise.
Um, what the HELL were you thinking!?! (Ooops. Sorry, that just came blurting out)
I’m truly touched, definitely flattered, by the kind sentiments. More so, given the fact that I’ve come to enjoy, respect, and learn from, these very same bloggers...and every one of you blogging Readers. It’s very much a mutual admiration society, no?
But something niggled at me. You see, I don’t consider myself much of a thinker.
Oh, my brain works just fine, thank you. I’ve been blessed/cursed with a high IQ. Processing information comes easily to me. Always has. I’ve been blessed with good teachers who taught me words, and the meanings and the power and the beauty of words. All of these were gifts bestowed with little work on my part.
So, what have I done with these gifts? Well, I’ve mucked up my life considerably...gargantuan portions of it anyway. You see, I’m not all that capable a thinker.
I’ve lived a life ruled by emotion. It’s one way of living. There are many other paths through life, to be sure. Some, no doubt, vastly superior to the path I chose. Still. I am who I am, and I’ve done what I’ve done. Believe me, there was scant little thinking involved. The thinking comes afterwards, while kneeling broken in some dark cave, or standing on a heap of smoking rubble...dazed and bewildered. I’ve gotten rather adept at looking back and reflecting. And what I reflect upon are the emotions and their consequences. I think to the extent I must to understand my feelings, rarely venturing from the Land of Emotion to the Land of The Wise to...say...plan and organize my life a bit better. Sigh.
I won’t be pasting the Thinking Blogger Award icon anywhere on these pages. I wouldn’t want to mislead some innocent into thinking
I am possessed of something akin to wisdom. I’m not.
There’s one more thing.
The purpose of these Blogger awards is to introduce readers to other worthy reads. Well, being true to form, I won’t try to decide on what subset to mention. That would require too much thought, ya know? No, I’ll simply reiterate what I’ve already stated before. I follow the writings and the doings of all of you Dear Readers. I do. Why do we read each other’s blogs? Because we’re kindred spirits of a sort. We are spun and swaddled in emotion...and we share our feelings and our thoughts regarding that very fact. I cherish and admire all of you for your hearts and your willingness to share their contents.
The pleasure has been all mine.
* * *
posted by Jonas | 7/25/2007 10:55:00 AM
12 Comments:
I, for one, was feeling, Mr. Jonas...and shoot...you're a good writer who brings up stuff for those who read you. Just accept it, OK? Thank you.
(I mean, geez....smile)
One of the (many) things I like about you, Ms. Gillette, is that you know how to make me laugh.
Yes. I'm laughing. Thank you.
I'll second, third and fourth those nominations, Jonas.
Perhaps "Thinking" has to cover a wide span of meaning here, including "inspirational" ?
Congratulations! Whatever the title, it's well deserved!
Oooooh! And you just made me blush, Ms. Twilight!
I'd rather live a life ruled by emotions than be out in the rain:
Her mind lives in a quiet room,
A narrow room, and tall,
With pretty lamps to quench the gloom
And mottoes on the wall.
There all the things are waxen neat
And set in decorous lines;
And there are posies, round and sweet,
And little, straightened vines.
Her mind lives tidily, apart
From cold and noise and pain,
And bolts the door against her heart,
Out wailing in the rain.
Dorothy Parker. She's brilliant, ain't she?
I like that poem! In my case, it's my brain that is usually locked out in the cold and rain.
Thanks, Jenn!
Congratulations, Jonas!
Why thank you, Grace!
Jonas, I love the way you turn a phrase and how you can often put into such lucious words what I'm feeling...
"Believe me, there was scant little thinking involved. The thinking comes afterwards, while kneeling broken in some dark cave, or standing on a heap of smoking rubble...dazed and bewildered. I’ve gotten rather adept at looking back and reflecting. And what I reflect upon are the emotions and their consequences. I think to the extent I must to understand my feelings, rarely venturing from the Land of Emotion to the Land of The Wise to...say...plan and organize my life a bit better. Sigh."
Thank you...
You most definitely are deserving of the Thinking Blogger award. Your intelligence and ability to express emotion so well is so obvious that it intimidates me. I think I'd be timid and a little awestruck if I were ever to have a face to face conversation.
Congratulations!
I agree with Gillette, your writing is lyrical. You write about pain and suffering with grace and dignity. As always I enjoy your writing and think about it long afterwards.
Awwwwwww...Laurie, Anna and Deb....look what you've done - my baseball cap doesn't fit any more!
Thank you so much for your too kind words!
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