Spes Magna Games

Well, the Powers That Be tell me I need to reflect on the A to Z blogging challenge. So, here goes.

Those few of you that keep track of what I write know that I had a heart attack back in October 2011. That really took the wind of my sails. My almost-vanity publishing of material for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game came to a screeching halt, and inertia set in. My body may have needed rest, but my mind, my aspirations, my life did not.

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it,” G. K. Chesterton observed. I needed to go against the stream of just getting by that I’d fallen into. My family and friends helped. My students helped. But all the help in the world isn’t much good if one doesn’t accept it and act accordingly.

So, I said to myself, “Self, people keep telling you to do something. So, let’s try to write something nearly everyday for a month.”

And I did, and most of the time I found it rather easy to do, which makes me wonder why I don’t do it more often. There were a few blogposts that gave me trouble, but overall I enjoyed the challenge. I like writing. I like sharing my ideas, and I like imagining that at least a few dozen people enjoy me doing so.

I hesitate to say that the A to Z challenge was therapeutic, but it did help remind me that I’m not dead yet. I may have taken a beating, but I’m not beaten.

And I’ve even taken up a new challenge: a 45-day exercise and diet program that my son Giant Boy and I are now one-fifth of the way through. While I doubt I’ll ever run a five-minute mile or knock out 70 push-ups in two minutes again, I’m going to get into better shape, and I’m taking Giant Boy along with me for the ride.

Another quote to close with, this one from William Ernest Henley: “Under the bludgeonings of chance / My head is bloody, but unbowed.”

Tags: A to Z