Wanderings

"Not all those who wander are lost," runs the line by J.R.R. Tolkien, and which prefaces a friend's blog of travels through Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. It's an attractive thought, one that reminds us of the importance to the journey regardless of the end and indeed, the oft forgotten ancient idea that there's a great deal of importance in doing things which are ends in themselves -- things that create a space where we recreate and refresh and somehow transcend the everyday.

Stepping beyond Labour Day, past summer and into autumn, there's a lot of pressure to get on with life. But juggling the various sources of information available to me as a writer, insinuating themselves upon me or otherwise demanding attention, I crave just a little more of that time to wander: Surveying what's being done, what's on people's minds, the quirks and oddities of the world that people feel inclined to share, and the curiosity animating my own imagination. Wandering can be healthy exercise, and help us explore questions we may not even be aware we're asking.

As a new season begins, I hope to post with a little more regularity and share the discoveries I make in my own wanderings (between deadlines, of course).