Introduction

Introduction

“I’m not trying to sell you on this idea in the sense of converting you to it. I want you to play with it. I want you to think of its possibilities. I’m not trying to prove it. I’m just putting it forward as a possibility of life to think about.” — The Dream Of Life - Alan Watts

My eldest daughter was my original inspiration for this book; the title for the earliest draft was “Letters to my Daughter.” As I wrote for more of my children, the title evolved to “Letters to my Children.” Then, on 2/23/2006, I started blogging, and with Joanne’s encouragement in 2007, began to explore broader ideas. From that time on, every potential title seemed inadequate. On 12/31/2008, I wrote the first of 340 articles for Examiner.com. Many other writings were inspired by discussions with friends and family. Eventually, I abandoned the search for a title and simply collected the topics, planning to assemble them “some day.”

When I finally began to assemble all the pieces in 2020, the only title that made any sense of the collection was simply “Observations.” However, once collected, a pattern emerged—a story.

Although this story contains elements of my life, and it’s told from my perspective and experience, it really isn’t about me. Ultimately, it’s a story about you; about us. It’s about what we are, where we are, and how we work. It’s about “how it works.”

I ask that you read with an open mind. Borrowing Alan Watts’ words: I’m not trying to sell you on these ideas in the sense of converting you to them. I want you to play with them, to think of the possibilities. I’m not trying to prove anything; I’m just putting the ideas forward as a way to think about how things work.

I have found that you can learn a lot from listening to yourself speak. But you can learn even more just by listening.

I just want you to listen—to me and to yourself.

One quick note: If you’re reading for “answers” you may be disappointed at the end. As far as I may have seen, I still have more questions than answers. Huston Smith observed: “The more developed the sense of the Infinite, the more distant from the finite it appears.” But this really isn’t a problem: the larger your world, the more there is to explore.

Read on, and see what you discover!