Metaphysical Meanderings Marks A Milestone: Five Years of Blogging!

Five years of blogging, good people. Five. Fucking. Years. DAMN!

Who would have thought that I'd still be at this? I'll admit that I am a stubborn bastard when I choose to be, so maybe I did know. 

Ladies and gentlemen, let me assure you that blogging is not an easy task. Trust me on this one. You go through phases with it. There are a few that I can qualify, such as:

• The "Do people really care what I have to say?" phase;
• The "Is there anyone out there really reading this crap?" phase; and
• The ever-popular "What is the reason I spend so much time doing this?" phase.

Not unlike the 5 stages of grief, you can go through these different phases more than once and it can last for varying periods of time. The charts, the readings, the myriad of video games, and life itself all call to me regularly. When I step away from the blog for a while, it's kind of easy to say, "Maybe I'll just stop."

If you've been a reader here for any length of time, you know that Saturn and I have a very strange relationship. Saturn is the planet of long-term efforts over time, and astrology itself is a Saturnian discipline for that reason. He was one of the primary motivators for me as I started to write this blog. But sometimes he does a number on me.

Luckily, when I got to a place of considering stopping altogether, I got feedback and encouragement from a number of places. My beloved Jennifer suggested that I start doing this, and my devoted family of choice reads the blog and supports me unwaveringly. I'm extremely grateful to have these four ladies in my life to help keep me grounded and writing. It's an incredible privilege that I hope to continue to deserve.

And all of you good people reading this deserve my sincere thanks as well, whether you just started reading me or you've been at it for a while. 

When you make a comment or interact with this blog in any way, it is truly and sincerely appreciated. This includes those who re-tweet my blog, comment on it directly here on Blogger or on FaceBook, or recommend it to others. When you do that, you are encouraging me by your very actions.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the people who have said nice things to me personally about the blog: That they enjoy it; that they learn a thing or two; that they found it funny; or even that they disagreed with it. By doing so, you have shown me respect just by taking the time to read my prose, and then to tell me what you think. 

When I hear comments from readers, like when they tell me that they forward my blog to the people at their office, for example, or that they thought something I wrote hit close to home for them, it makes me want to sit down and write some more. It causes me to re-think my positions and perspective. And it challenges me to "raise my game" to attain and maintain your attention.

The original intention of this blog was to get me writing so I could eventually publish a book. While the book hasn't materialized yet, your enthusiasm and encouragement lift and guide me. 389 blogs and nearly 80K page views later, while its original intent was to get me writing, it has transformed into something beautiful, something that I can be proud of. 

While the "solar return" of this blog is Sunday the 28th at 11:14pm, the date I started this blog was May 29, 2011. Without realizing it until today--REALLY!--tomorrow is the birthday of a person with whom I identify tremendously: President John F. Kennedy. And he had a very Saturn quote in his inaugural address:

"I do not shrink from this responsibility; I welcome it!"

I hope to continue to fulfill that responsibility to both myself and all of you through this blog.

Please know that I cannot thank you enough for your past and (hopefully) continued support moving forward. I look forward to seeing you virtually, or in person across my table, very soon. 

A thousand thanks,

John