Ron's Sharpening
Ron's Blogs

 


 Click here for my home page: Virtual Life / Work Portfolio of Ron Irvine

Bloggin'

Check out Ron's Weblog:

Living with Open Hands . . . in a world of clenched fists . . .

You'll find it in three locations on the web:

Yahoo 360

http://360.yahoo.com/ronalddirvine

(the oldest, most sequential and comprehensive

in mapping my journey)

MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/rondeanirvine

(the most socially interactive, media friendly, 

allowing for freedom of expression of

values, beliefs, issues, causes, etc.)

Xanga

http://www.xanga.com/ronirvine

(the newest, a place to connect with some

local folks)

Wordpress

http://ronirvine.wordpress.com

See also:

Facebook; a place for social networking

LinkedIn: a place for professional networking

The open hand is a tangible expression

of an open mind and an open heart.

Question, examine, think, learn, grow . . .

Thoughts and Meditations on Life.

The real voyage of discovery consists

not in seeing

new landscapes,
but in having

new eyes.
~ Marcel Proust

"If I loose my grip . . .
will I take flight?"

~ Bruce Cockburn
We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and to know the place for the first time.
~ T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
         

Why blog?

For me, it is mapping a journey . . .

I've been blogging since April Fool's Day 2006 (blog #1). It has become a way for me to find my voice and to give voice to my questions; a journey from dogmatism and certainty to inquiry and dialogue, from living with clenched fists to living with open hands.

For me, it is mapping a journey, not unlike the Israelites' journey in the wilderness. They could not see around the bend. Many surprises were in store. . . both good and bad.

Whenever a significant event happened they were admonished to REMEMBER. Each learning experience imparted a new lesson, a new measure of wisdom that they must not FORGET. As a tangible reminder of these life remembrances, they built a pillar of rocks, so they could return to them (physically or mentally) to draw deeply from the wisdom that was imparted.

Along my journey, each of my blog entries is another pillar of rocks, a monument to a new insight, a new learning experience (usually born out of pain), a new question (mostly), a new perspective, a new surprise (good or bad). Therefore, I return to each of them regularly . . . lest I forget . . .

I must remember to befriend life's dark places , lest I forget the truths hidden there.

I must remember to face life's pain , lest I forget the pain of others and the learning that pain imparted on me.

I must remember to embrace life's mystery, lest I forget and think I KNOW . . .

The caption for this picture indicates another use for a pile of rocks. This pile was used for navigation for explorers in a desolate, isolated land (St. George Island); in some cases, guiding those on the journey out of the wilderness and into a place of safety and rest. This also parallels my use of blogging; journaling the journey for use when I find myself living (or stuck in) a Deja Vu. I know I've been in this place before. What did I learn? How did I move on?

"There's roads and there's roads

And they call, can't you hear it?

Roads of the earth

And roads of the spirit

The best roads of all

Are the ones that aren't certain

One of those is where you'll find me

Till they drop the big curtain."

(Bruce Cockburn, "Child of the Wind")

"Sometimes the best map will not guide you
You can't see what's round the bend
Sometimes the road leads through dark places
Sometimes the darkness is your friend"

(Bruce Cockburn, "Pacing the Cage")

 

“Education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”

-- Will Durant

Core Values

Values are what drives a person.

They represent that part of a person that is non-negotiable.

For me, they are expressed by the image of the open hand

 

"You must be

the change

you wish to see

in the world."

~Mahatma Gandhi