These are my quests … a guide to my blog posts for new visitors (and old!)

I’m inviting you – for a moment now and then – to wander with me. “My journey to authenticity” – that’s the subtitle of my blog. These are my explorations in life; I write to share about how my life has been, and continues to be, a quest for meaning.

For each of us, sometimes in vastly different ways, life is a process of discovery, mistakes, renewals and perhaps a kind of reemergence of a deeper awareness. My life demonstrates some lessons, more than a few follies, but also my determination to keep dreaming, hoping, learning and exploring. In fact, “exploring” is probably the single word that best describes my writing. So, I’ve created a new “framework” for sharing my explorations, built around four categories that I have used to organize the posts to date, and which will guide my ongoing musings. That way, both long time readers, and new visitors, can hopefully more effectively navigate to items of interest.

These are the “four corners”, or “four winds” of my voyages, whether internal or external, which I invite you to tag along –

The “four corners” of my voyages ….

Exploring new life – Moments from my life, past and present, as I continue to find the courage and determination to embrace the possible, however unfamiliar. It has taken me a lifetime to learn how crucial it is to discover the deeper parts of our hearts and being, and to share those genuinely, and hopefully unafraid. Living in this era is a tightrope walk between what we hold dear and preserve, and what we choose to embrace for the future. Change is eternal, and inevitable – there are universal lessons we each have to offer, perhaps some of mine will have meaning for you. That is my hope.

Exploring history – The narratives of our present become the heritage of our past, and our legacy to our heirs. We are in an era that will be talked about, and wondered about, long after we are gone; we are creating history and seeing new paradigms of values, social structure and meaning emerge. For me, I draw encouragement from the past as well – not just mine, but from the mementos of my family, the faded images and letters, and the insights I gain from digging into the lives and sacrifices of my forebears. They surround me, as the saying goes, like “clouds of witnesses” – my hope is that by sharing my discoveries with some of you, it will inspire your own discoveries of those individuals and moments which deserve to be preserved – as well as to relish and realize the wonderful possible ahead.

Exploring my horizons – San Francisco and hidden niches elsewhere – Living in my relatively new home here since late 2017, I enjoy discovering the rich textures and dynamic cultures that have made this region a kaleidoscope of humanity. Whether through random strolls, visits to sites, walking tours or events unique to this city – and the others that I occasionally get to visit – I hope to share these moments of insight and inspiration with those of you who might otherwise never get to stroll these byways.

Exploring faith – In some of the posts already here, I have written about the impact that belief structures, religious practices and principles, and my own uncertainties and struggles to come to terms with questions humanity has explored for millennia. I am not pretending I will find answers for anyone else, and often wrestle with the same questions that others set aside long ago. But I feel that my own journey, and ongoing search for things that probably can never be adequately expressed in words, will – for some – let them know that we are not alone in continuing to ask for understanding, and to perhaps see in one another a bridge to not just accepting our differences, but standing together despite them and letting a greater love find a way.

So there you have it, fellow travelers. I look forward to having you alongside now and again – we all need company. I wish you, who I may never meet but who are also seeking their way through to a better place, patience, hope, joy – and love always.