A trail of flags

Upon traveling to a new land, it is traditional for an explorer to plant a flag in the soil (or, on occasion, moon dust), declaring, in essence “hey folks, I got here”.

A blog entry is a bit like a flag ceremony. You find a promising place in the rich virgin soil of a new day, and you plant your flag, in the form of a post. Whatever else your post signifies, you are also saying, one way or another, “here is where I was at this moment in my life.”

I have been planting such a flag into each day for well over four years. In a sense, I have been claiming a unique place in my life for each individual 24 hour period. When I think back on any of these little flags, I am reminded of where (and who) I was just then, and what was happening in the strange and ordinary happenstance of my life. Now, as I turn around to look behind me, I see that the trail spans a surprisingly long distance, stretching clear to the horizon.

It’s all good. As Proust understood, time examined is time better than time unexamined. Even now, going back to any individual post, my mind becomes filled with a flood of associations, sense memories, sweet precious moments of pride and regret.

Sometimes it’s good just to plant a flag.

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