Again I sit here, wondering what to write about.

Various things tumble through my head. I have feelings of trepidation and hesitation that seem to come from many sources. I think back to what made me launch this blog back in March 2005: I wanted to find out what this new phenomenon was called blogging, and, as an experiment, went through the steps of setting up a blog on Blogger.com, not realizing that by the end of it I would be "live" and would have a blog. Having built it, I started typing content into it.

I'm still here. I wanted to create a journal of the progress of my work, one that others could check in on, if they so chose. The commitment of publishing would keep me coming back and writing posts, so at least I would have a record for my own use of the process of writing this book.

Along the way I have used it to develop my thoughts on writing and reading, on art, literature, mythology, symbolism, and other things. These are ideas, and it's hard to know how much influence or effect they might have. They're like seeds: insignificant objects that mainly never do anything, but when they find a home and sprout, then tremendous results can occur. I'm throwing them out there, for whatever it's worth.

I don't regard myself as a normal member of the blogosphere, engaging in comment on other blog-posts or weighing in with heated opinions about the topics of the day. Looking at the reader comments attached to online news articles, I find that the tone of exchange is generally dismal and juvenile. I have no wish to be part of that.

So this document is what it is. It's more like correspondence than journalism--like writing letters to someone I know well. I suspect that the advent of e-mail, so excellent in so many ways, has damaged the level of correspondence. There's nothing exactly like the kinds of letters I used to write and receive before the days of e-mail (never mind text messaging!): thoughtful, carefully composed communication intended only for one or two people. It's too bad.

I reckon I'll keep sending these letters into the ether--to finish documenting the construction of this invisible cathedral. One day it will become visible, and this record might make more sense.

(This post has no title, because no matter what I do, Blogger will not let me enter the Title field. Last day of Mercury retrograde...)