I ran into one of Diane’s best friends the other day (I also consider her a good friend). We’ve known one another for a long time and she asked me if I’m still writing. After all, she’s a faithful reader of my meanderings and it’s been awhile. The short answer is that I’ve taken one of those hiatuses not completely unknown in the last several years. I hesitated to come up with a good reason. A not unreasonable one is that we’ve been traveling a lot which has been nothing short of absolutely wonderful. I’m at home with rhythm, for the most part; although I’d have to say, that is, rhythm punctuated with adventure and the arrival of new things, which may be a partial definition of an oxymoron but who’s counting?

The obvious explanation is that I write when the impulse arrives, usually unbidden. I have no agenda to punch out a certain amount of words and no deadlines. At least right now.

And, to be honest, I haven’t felt such an urge lately and I’ve encountered no pressing need to address this or that theme or topic.

Instead, I’ve been doing a great amount of reading, amongst other activities. By great amount, I’d hazard that I’ve read some thirty books in the past three or four months and that doesn’t include many dozens of lengthy articles across a wide range of disciplines. I’m wearing a path to the hold section of the RB library, while also keeping my Kindle library updated.

As a lifelong reader, I’m familiar with all sorts of genres, from high brow to pulp, fiction and non-fiction, most of the major academic disciplines, historical to contemporary, science fiction to science reality and so on. I’ve gone through phases of thrillers, intrigue, crime and legal fiction, and most of the authors on the top 100 list of all time.

I’m not saying this to boast.

Instead, that as I age, I’m finding myself a bit more discriminatory. In that, things that used to seem interesting don’t necessarily hold that same allure. Oh, I’m not saying I need to be deeply challenged by things all of the time (a good story can be just that. A good story!).

But, I want to be drawn in, in a way that I come out the other side somehow a little bit different.

Which brings me to a curious feature in the life of a reader.

Have you, that are readers, ever had that feeling of loss when you’ve found a fantastic author who has written more than one book … and you come to the end (well, maybe there’s hope that next year there will be another one)? I’ve had that feeling many times. Like, darn, I’m losing something at least a little profound.

And, then, someone makes a recommendation or you stumble across a link to a name that did not exist in your world a few minutes ago and you decide to check it out and it’s like Christmas morning. Rinse and repeat. Will I ever find someone as good and prolific again?

I’ve cycled through this more times than I can count. Surely, I’m going to run out of great stories, great thoughts, great writers. To my perpetual relief, that has yet to happen!

Which brings me to this moment.

Recently, I’ve discovered a couple of absolutely remarkable authors. To use the Christmas analogy again, it’s been like opening a present with little or no expectation, only to be struck almost dumb by the beauty of the gift. I’ve recently encountered “take your breath away” writing because it touches deep places, much like an exquisite piece of music that leaves no room for anything else in that moment, while at the same time pointing to something greater than that of normal sensibilities.

Put a little differently, I’ve read some works that are so compelling that I have had trouble moving from one paragraph to the next … and this is from a reader who is known for being able to read a lot in a relatively short amount of time.

Perhaps, in a sense, a reason I haven’t been writing is that I’ve been filling the tank, so to speak. Unfortunately, an unwelcome side effect is the realization that I can’t hold a candle to some of these writers, in their ability to craft so fine a piece of art.

Oh well, fortunately, it’s not a competition!

(Caveat: Please don’t ask me for the list. After all, beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder and my eyesight can easily be different from yours!)

In any event, while I’ve been the glad receiver of some really wonderful writing, I’ve also been continuing my exploration of some of the general themes I’ve tackled previously. Among those is the intersection of knowledge, faith and belief. While that can sound esoteric and really the province of snooty philosophers, I like to examine it from the vantage point of we everyday folks.

One of the benefits of spending so much time reading and listening across the spectrum of ideas is that it helps us (me) focus on the things which prove the most valuable to our lives in the time we have on earth.

And, right now, I’m diving deeply into one of my favorite themes: What’s behind the curtain?

With that, stay tuned. 🙂