It's ALIVE!

I could be talking about Baby New Year, or about this blog, but the Mad Scientist in me is itching to start growing things in test tubes, again! Initially, I began this blog as sort of a catch-all for experiments in living, but I haven't done much with it, over the last year. I lacked both motivation and focus, but beyond that, I lacked a real desire to give in to each experiment. I had the best intentions and ideas, but I was too wrapped up in myself to allow for the integration of those ideas into daily living.

Change can be a frightening thing. It requires letting go of routines and surrendering oneself to something...else. One can't know the results of an experiment before it has ended; we can only theorize. I have an extremely soft spot in my heart, reserved specifically for theory, but theory without experimentation is nothing but a beautiful idea.

In the spirit of both letting go and gaining ground, I have reached a comfortable place in Paradox, and now sit squarely in the middle of those two opposites. I don't know what to expect. It is not my job to decide what course these experiments will take, but only to participate and observe, and to record those observations as time passes. It will be impossible to be objective, but I'm okay with that.

I can say this: a lot of early experiments will focuse on self-improvement, playing with the perceptions of things that are supposed to make our lives "better." I say this with no small amount of skepticism, as I suspect that many of my endeavors will also make my life considerably more difficult. Again, I'm okay with that. I will take my suspicions, expectations, fears, and joys at face value. I would love to say that I will reserve judgement, but I doubt that I can hold up that part of the bargain. I fully anticipate some ranting and raving, along with cheering. The process is the important part...seeing an experiment through to whatever end it may take. It's funny, because I don't believe in endings, at all, happy or otherwise.

At first, I was going to focus on a single experiment per month, but that particular formatting decision was flawed. Many of my ideas for experiments revolve around ideas that have already been tested and marketed, just not by me, and many of them go well beyond the 30-day marker. I will simply follow the parameters of each experiment as they present themselves, without trying to impose any other external structures on them. Also, I really hope to include others in the process. At first, this was all about me, but things are slowly shifting towards including a larger community. Perhaps it has something to do with social media, in general, but I feel like I have a responsibility to use it for something beyond self-aggrandizement and ego-stroking. I hope that some of my ideas will reflect both personal and social exploration.

The big question is where to begin? I'm going to reserve my choices and thoughts on that question for another post, just for the sake of organization. I do hope that you will join me, and perhaps even attempt some of these experiments on yourself. Whatever happens, it is bound to be a worthwhile journey.