Curiosity and collectanea

June 1, 2018 creative endeavors life lessons

Just what is this blog about?

Curiouser and curiouser

What comes to mind when I think about curiosity?

First, I think of the Zen Buddhist idea of the beginner’s mind: setting aside our assumptions and preconceptions and encountering the world as a child does, with a sense of wonder and open to discovery.

Curiosity begins from not knowing.
It goes hand in hand with wonder and delight.

Second, I remember a training I took around “crucial conversations.” One of its key ideas was that when we are trying to resolve a conflict with someone, we need to proceed with curiosity, to try to understand the other person’s point of view — their story — instead of assuming that we already know everything there is to know about the situation.

Curiosity opens us to learning and moves us toward understanding.

And, third, I think of Elizabeth Gilbert’s assertion that “creative living is choosing the path of curiosity over the path of fear.” She goes on to say:

Curiosity is an impulse that just taps you on the shoulder very lightly and invites you to turn your head a quarter of an inch and look a little closer at something that has intrigued you…

And here’s the thing. Sometimes following your curiosity will lead you to your passion. Sometimes it won’t, and then guess what? That’s still totally fine. You’ve lived a life following your curiosity. You’ve created a life that is a very interesting thing, different from anybody else’s. And your life itself then becomes the work of art, not so much contingent upon what you produced, but about a certain spirit of being that I think is a lot more interesting and also a lot more sustainable. (OnBeing interview)

Curiosity invites us to lead a creative, engaged, interesting life.

For all these reasons, I take curiosity as my point of departure. I want to follow breadcrumbs, tug on loose threads, explore byways, and find my own creative path. 

Collectanea

Why “Collectanea”? Craig asked me. People won’t even know how to spell it! He has a point, I admit, but I love this word! And, frankly, I rather like the fact that some people won’t know what it means at first. Does that make me sound like a snob? Perhaps… but I think of a new word as an opportunity for discovery: What does it mean? Where does it come from? How is it related to other words? Will it help my Scrabble game? (And haven’t you noticed that whenever you learn a new word you suddenly start seeing it everywhere — as if the rest of the world had just discovered it, too?)

DIGRESSION. I remember that on our first day of class, Professor Robert Bellah told us that one of his past students had noted in his course evaluation that “Professor Bellah speaks in the vocabulary of higher language” (or something to that effect). Bellah told us wryly, but in no uncertain terms, that he had no intention of dumbing-down his language and that we should make note of any words we didn’t know and look them up (which was not quite as easy back then as it is today). Now, as then, I find myself much in sympathy with Professor Bellah! 

Okay, so what does “collectanea” mean? Dictionaries say that collectanea is/are (apparently, the noun can be either singular or plural):

  • passages, remarks, and other pieces of text collected from various sources (Oxford Dictionaries)
  • collected writings; also: literary items forming a collection (Merriam Webster)
  • collected passages, especially as arranged in a miscellany or anthology (Dictionary.com)

I would add that collectanea are first cousins to florilegia — the gathering of literary “flowers.”

So for my purposes, collectanea are bouquets of intriguing texts — words, sounds, images, memories. In this space I intend to gather and ponder these fragrant and evanescent blooms.

How to write a blog that people will want to read?

I didn’t know. And the thing was that I was not entirely sure I wanted people to read my blog. But I have been writing (to myself, for myself) for years and, more recently, creating what I call digital “postcards” (see an example, below) and sharing these only very selectively. The responses I received gradually made me think that maybe — just maybe — it was time to share these creative projects with a wider audience, rather than clutching them to my bosom like a locked diary.

So in May I went off to the UK to participate in a workshop on — you guessed it! — “How to Write a Blog that People Will Want to Read,” offered by The Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life. The GA’s blog about his corner of London has been my daily pleasure for the past several years. So I went hoping for guidance and for that kick in the pants (as my dad might have said) that would start me off on this new adventure.

I found both — and more. Through his writing (now more than 3,000 posts!) The GA’s natural diffidence has given way to a quiet assurance in his voice and the stories he tells. He shared his experience and perspective in leading this workshop. Over the course of two days (with breaks for catered lunch and tea — so perfectly British!), the nine of us wrote and shared and discussed our writings. The GA helped us to find ways of being more authentically present in our own texts, suggesting deft edits that could almost magically transform a rather dry description into an engaging personal statement. We also explored the relationship between author and reader, The GA characterizing a blog as “half a conversation” — which I loved.

The other participants were thoughtful and encouraging co-travelers. (I’ve posted links to their blogs under “Connections,” below.) I was impressed and humbled by the writings they shared, and also heartened by their responses to my bits and pieces.

Then, when I got back to California, I asked three friends — all excellent writers — for feedback on a few of my early posts-in-progress. Their critiques were both insightful and empowering, and their responses emboldened me to be more present in my writing. If they saw potential here, I thought, that was encouragement enough for me to move ahead with this project.

So here I am, writing a blog that I hope people will want to read! I promise to stay curious and to share my discoveries and collectanea — and other things, as yet unimagined. I will begin the conversation and look forward to a response.

Greetings and gratitude to all my Gentle Readers!
And a blessing on those kind and honest critics who can help us do better,
if we will but receive their feedback with curiosity and an open heart.

Connections

Georgette Heyer puts me to sleep