This evening I went to a little gathering in honor of Marvin. I had lovely conversations with his family, close friends, people who were connected to each other through the very fortunate circumstance of having known this marvelous person.
To my surprise a friend of mine — somebody I’ve known for decades — told me that she reads my blog faithfully. It’s “Ken redux”, she said, a kind of boiled down snapshot of me, offered up in little posts.
I had never thought of it that way. For me, this blog isn’t about me. Rather, it’s about everything outside of myself — a chronicle of the wonder of all the things going on in the world.
But of course to anybody else who is not me, it’s the other way around. You are seeing me looking out, and what you see is my act of looking outward — which is, of course, a kind of representation of me.
This whole “I / thou” duality is so ingrained, so taken for granted, that we rarely even think about it. So it was odd, yet strangely fascinating, to see my little mirror onto the world held up to me by a friend, and to realize that what it was reflecting was my own face.
As that friend who loves the “Ken redux,” I was thrilled to hold up that mirror. Your mirror has taught me not just about the content that you write about– but how to make that mirror. I will soon be reflecting pieces of my digital world in the National Park Service. As I’ve started to write, I’ve begun to wonder– how much is too much to reflect in one post. I’ve begun to question– when is the right time to post a thought? idea? ongoing initiative? Going back and reading your posts have been invaluable. On behalf of all those mirror-makers, thank you, Ken! As always you have taught us well!
That is a very wonderful thing of you to say Allison. Thank you. 🙂 🙂 🙂