Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Mushotoku


Proper Course has no goals.

Blogging is not a game that is played to win.
It is a game that is played just to play.

This blog is not sailing towards a destination.
It is just wandering among the islands.

Each day a new island appears on the horizon. Fresh experiences, sensations, impressions. An unfamiliar thought about sailing occurs spontaneously, naturally. Sometimes it is an isolated island of an idea alone in the ocean. Sometimes it is an archipelago of thoughts and I can hop from island to island. I don't have fixed rules in my mind about what's good, what's bad. A rocky volcanic island, a coral reef, a sandy spit. Each is fascinating in its own way. I just explore the island I'm on at that moment. Sometimes a few friends share it with me.

I pick an idea I like.
I write about it.
Then I move on.

There is no end to the journey.
It is an endless cruise.

Proper Course has no proper course.


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what are your opinions on those with a blog that have a direction?

Tillerman said...

I think it's fine if other people want to have goals or a direction for their blog. After all, that ProBlogger site is mainly for people who want to make money from blogs. If someone is writing a blog as a business then I'm sure they need some goals to be successful.

I write this blog as a hobby basically because I enjoy doing it. Though it is gratifying that so many people stop by and read it and occasionally leave comments.

I wrote this post this way because I'm a contrarian by nature and I wanted to do something different from all the other folk responding to Darren's request.

I'd be interested to hear from the other sailing bloggers that stop by here as to whether they are drifting aimlessly from island to island like me or whether they have conscious goals for their blogging.

Anonymous said...

Well, Johnsee and I have a goal and it's to provide sailors with an avenue to blog.

Plus, I just enjoy writing about random "stuff", and like anyone, get a kick out of it when others leave their lasting remarks in the comments section.

No man is an island. Eventually the wind fills the sails and you're pushed into a direction.

Ben said...

Here here!

As you may have noticed, my blog is about as random as they come. True, I do hope it has a very general direction and focus someday, but for now, I enjoy learning the ropes.

I'm not interested in the money, but I don't complain when people click on the sole add that occupies my site. They did annoy me the other day though--

I take pride in having a well written site, with minimized grammatical errors and typos (that are corrected the minute they come to my attention). Last week, in glaring, big bold letters, my ad read:

Afraid of loosing your memory? Try vitamin B12!

Needless to say, adsense got a piece of hate-mail.

Zen said...

I am, therefore I blog...


However mostly just to log where I've been & get some social interaction with others of like mind.

So it is conscious drifting,
the journey, not the destination

Anonymous said...

That was a very soothing post. Thanks for that. I feel like learning to sail now. ;-)

Carol Anne said...

Sense of direction? Are you kidding? Five O'Clock Somewhere has no goal, and any accidental voyages are to be savored.

During the exploration of the South Pacific, and actually well into the 20th century, the ocean was so full of uncharted and mis-charted islands that ships often ran across one where none was expected; such an encounter was known as an "accidental voyage." Tillerman uses an especially apt analogy.

fallout said...

Well I've got some goals and it does involve a bit of sailing + requires a boat. Article over at my blog http://pet-pictures.blogspot.com/2006/06/buy-island-with-pro-blogging-skills.html

Anonymous said...

Auuu...this is something. I like the way you phrase it.
Cheers.
May

Pat said...

Ummm, besides serving as a journal and a way of letting people know what I'm thinking and doing, one purpose of my blog is to promote sailing in a part of the world where sailing isn't expected. So, sometimes I'll indulge my rational side with goal-directed-like activities.

Post a Comment