A Chinese Blessing?

I have no idea if it is true or not; but I've heard it said that an old Chinese blessing wishes for one, "to live in interesting times."

If such a wish is truly a blessing then all 7,102,000,000 people who alive in the world at this minute in time have been and are truly blessed.

I have been a blogger for many years. My blogs have not shaken the world; but then again, they've been more successful than many, and less successful than others in terms of readership, in that they attract about 50,000 views a month. Of course I'd like to attract millions of viewers as the viral blogs do, but 50,000 a month is respectable I suppose.

An Amazing View

The problem with my older blogs is that I started them to provide insight into a particular interest group; and within that interest group, they have served their purpose well. However, over the past year or so I have felt myself constrained by having to blog about things that pertain only to one interest group. We truly do live in interesting times. I find myself wanting to comment on many current events and interests that have nothing do do with the interest group I have blogged about for years. Therefore, I have created this new blog to throw off those constraints and use the freedom to blog on my contemplations of current knotty issues I find both interesting and controversial.

At the same time, I'm fearful that in this wide open format, attracting even 50,000 viewers a month may be quite impossible. Some of you will stumble upon this blog and find it interesting. More of you will stumble upon it and quickly forget it. My hope is that those of you who find it interesting will tell your friends about it and that through word of mouth, so to speak, the blog will pick up some viewers.

When I write, I often write with a passion that makes those who read my work think I am not open to views other than my own. Nothing could be further from the truth. I blog to spur comments. I blog to challenge my readers to think about the knotty issues of our time.  I learn from those who agree with me as well as those who do not. I hope, through my efforts, to help others to learn as well. I won't always be right in my views, but I hope to always be challenging.

The fact is, I very much agree with Charles Darwin, himself a controversial figure both in life and in death, who once said, "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."

(Charles Darwin, Introduction to The Descent of Man, 1871)

In this blog, I will simply be writing about my knotty contemplations as of the time I write. As I hear the views and contemplations of others and as my life continues to unfold, my view may or may not change. My pledge to readers is, I will always blog about the truth as I see it in all my human frailty modified by a higher than average IQ, a college education and a questioning intellect that has driven me for the better part of seven decades.

Welcome to my Knotty Contemplations of the world around us and all the human issues that are a part of it. As I have the time, I'll fill out my profile and reveal more about myself. In the mean time, if anyone is finding this first blog post of my new blog, I'd be ecstatic to hear from you. Please leave a comment. 

You may also email me at knottycontemplations@gmail.com

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