At some point, anyone who has a long-term blog comes face-to-face with the specter of repetition. Mr. Methodic at A New Shade of Black briefly explores this topic in "Feeling a Bit Repetitive."
While this issue creeps up on ANY writer, it can be especially daunting for those of us who write on philosophical topics. There is a finite amount of fundamental questions and, once these have been broached a few dozen times, the writer can begin to feel like a scratched and broken record!
In all frankness, I run into this problem from time-to-time. It's not so much an issue of writer's block; it has far more to do with "What can I write about that I haven't written about before?"
Recently, however, it dawned on me that our lives are steeped in repetition. Every breath taken is a repeat of countless breaths we've taken previously. Every beat of our hearts mimics prior beats. Every time we go to the bathroom it's a "been there, done that before" kind of experience. Even when we personally encounter a sensation or an occurrence for the first time, countless others have experienced near the very same thing before.
Everything we do, feel, think or dream about has been done, felt, thought or dreamt about before and I'm more than confident that each of these things will be replicated by ourselves or others in the future. So, it should surprise no one that we tend to write about the same things.
Taking this topic even one step further, philosophers throughout the ages have been discussing the very same issues and, often, coming to the very same conclusions. What Zhuangzi wrote about thousands of years ago is not dissimilar in the least from what Scott or I have been writing about over the past few days. We may phrase it in a different manner, but the overall subject matter is the same.
The up shoot of this discussion is that I no longer worry about repetition. On a blog of this nature, there is no way to escape it. So why try? All trying will do is to end in frustration.
For me, the goal is NOT to find new topics to write about; it's more about finding different ways to address the same key issues.
While this issue creeps up on ANY writer, it can be especially daunting for those of us who write on philosophical topics. There is a finite amount of fundamental questions and, once these have been broached a few dozen times, the writer can begin to feel like a scratched and broken record!
In all frankness, I run into this problem from time-to-time. It's not so much an issue of writer's block; it has far more to do with "What can I write about that I haven't written about before?"
Recently, however, it dawned on me that our lives are steeped in repetition. Every breath taken is a repeat of countless breaths we've taken previously. Every beat of our hearts mimics prior beats. Every time we go to the bathroom it's a "been there, done that before" kind of experience. Even when we personally encounter a sensation or an occurrence for the first time, countless others have experienced near the very same thing before.
Everything we do, feel, think or dream about has been done, felt, thought or dreamt about before and I'm more than confident that each of these things will be replicated by ourselves or others in the future. So, it should surprise no one that we tend to write about the same things.
Taking this topic even one step further, philosophers throughout the ages have been discussing the very same issues and, often, coming to the very same conclusions. What Zhuangzi wrote about thousands of years ago is not dissimilar in the least from what Scott or I have been writing about over the past few days. We may phrase it in a different manner, but the overall subject matter is the same.
The up shoot of this discussion is that I no longer worry about repetition. On a blog of this nature, there is no way to escape it. So why try? All trying will do is to end in frustration.
For me, the goal is NOT to find new topics to write about; it's more about finding different ways to address the same key issues.
i think that if something is relevant to you, others might find it relevant as well. just keep doing what you're doing. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting comment as have just completed packing to return to China.
ReplyDeleteI have been rewriting the same point since I began. There is no one here to write. "i" is the mistaken identity with mind and when asked we all say we are "I", which is true. The one I, called Brahman, Tao, One with no two, Self, and even God... Then I spend times saying.. "No, not that god, the one separate to you, get out of your 'i-ego-separate' mind. I mean the indivisible Tao."
ReplyDeleteWith hundreds of posts though no one is going to come and read a whole blog so you need the core elements repeated as much as possible.
Which cunningly justifies the repetitive nature of blogging on the roots of life.