My "experimental" dawn blog Up@dawn is a year old today... and for the first time in a year, it's balking at my attempt to publish. So here's what I was going to say there this morning:
That first cautious post of 4.24.09, "rise and shine," announced a simple plan to keep regular hours and harvest some early thoughts before they've withered under the critical glare of mid-day. The point was motivation, not so much to haul out of bed early-- I do that by inclination and habit anyway, most days-- but to capture some of those fleeting auroral moments before they evaporate forever; and then notch 'em (like old Thoreau said) on my stick.
My grad school mentor John Lachs taught me to write stuff down before doing anything else, and it's still the most effective writing strategy I know. Rise, write, wake, walk, work, re-write (and, oh yeah, don't forget in the meantime to enjoy life): the perambulating rhythm of it suits me, and I like the hours.
The urgencies of academic dailiness took the blog over, when school started in August. The topical agenda each week-day then largely reflected whatever we were to read and discuss in class. But we finished our last required text yesterday in Intro, so I can again pretty much let what Henry would have called the "genius" of every new dawn dictate these posts 'til class cranks up again.
That's a bit scary, but inviting too: I can't wait to see what's on my everyday liminal rising mind at daybreak. Often, not much; but once in a while something will dawn fresh. Least I can do is show up. As Nietzsche reminds, "There is many a dawn which has not yet shed its light." (Rig Veda)
That first cautious post of 4.24.09, "rise and shine," announced a simple plan to keep regular hours and harvest some early thoughts before they've withered under the critical glare of mid-day. The point was motivation, not so much to haul out of bed early-- I do that by inclination and habit anyway, most days-- but to capture some of those fleeting auroral moments before they evaporate forever; and then notch 'em (like old Thoreau said) on my stick.
My grad school mentor John Lachs taught me to write stuff down before doing anything else, and it's still the most effective writing strategy I know. Rise, write, wake, walk, work, re-write (and, oh yeah, don't forget in the meantime to enjoy life): the perambulating rhythm of it suits me, and I like the hours.
The urgencies of academic dailiness took the blog over, when school started in August. The topical agenda each week-day then largely reflected whatever we were to read and discuss in class. But we finished our last required text yesterday in Intro, so I can again pretty much let what Henry would have called the "genius" of every new dawn dictate these posts 'til class cranks up again.
That's a bit scary, but inviting too: I can't wait to see what's on my everyday liminal rising mind at daybreak. Often, not much; but once in a while something will dawn fresh. Least I can do is show up. As Nietzsche reminds, "There is many a dawn which has not yet shed its light." (Rig Veda)
Charles Darwin (
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