What a frightening journey! Walking home from the Flying M tonight I had to step carefully over and around hundreds of slimy worms who apparantly, like myself, felt that it was a good evening to get out. For most of the trip home, surrounding lights illuminated the sidewalk just enough so that I was able to avoid slipping on slimy worm carcasses. However, as I passed the cemetery on Warm Springs Avenue (the little guys were especially fat there), street lights no longer lit my path. I could only cringe as some steps felt just a bit softer than others. Of course, I wasn't really traumatized by the experience. I found the great gathering of worms rather interesting. I now have an intimate understanding of why people call earth worms "night crawlers". Those suckers can boogy, especially when lubricated by a days worth of rain. Besides the liveliness of the creatures, I found an interest in keeping an eye out for the biggest worm. By my measure, the longest was about a foot from end to end; which is long, but still small compared to the two footers I occasionally came across as a boy digging in Kansas dirt.

If you've visited my blog lately, you know I've been preoccupied with books and the reading thereof. See, I've recently changed my approach to philosophy. I used to take pride in the thought that my philosophical and moral constructs came about with little influence from formal education or willful absorption of classical works on the topics of philosophy, psychology, sociology, and political science. In college, I did take a class or two in which I gained a sound understanding of greek philosophy as well as common schools of thought, like conservatism, liberalism, and their various derivatives. But my understanding of the humanities (in my meaning, subjects which specifically address the human condition) is really an elementary understanding, since even in college I feel that classes were primarily elementary, not in-depth. At any rate, I've recently opted to really delve into the subjects that, for whatever reason, I find the most fascinating. Whereas before, I didn't have the freedom and time required to filter out that which I cared little for, now I'm reading books that address my favorite philisophical and moral topics directly. Finally, I'm glad that my immersion in the thoughts of others is coming after a significant period of independent, critical thinking. While I know that original thought is impossible, I hope that by always challenging the most basic assumptions of history's best known philosphers, my thoughts will remain progressive and I'll avoid getting carried away with any one school.

Yes, I'm happy to be reading material that will one day enable me to adeptly discuss (and write about) faith, religion, morality, way of life, and happiness with others; but lately I've been feeling as though I'm reading a lot and producing not enough. What I want to do is not just enjoy what I'm reading and learn something in the process, but record the evolution of my thoughts regarding my chosen subjects in a systematic way. I don't want to read something and think "well that's interesting" and then forget about it-I want to scrutinize the author's conclusions in order to derive strong truths and discard obvious mistakes. Plus, when an author's words spark an idea in my mind, I'd like to record the idea. Another constructive step I might take is to explain what, if anything, I hope to someday accomplish through this particular hobby/study. I have a general idea of what that is, but for now I'll say that in the short term, my primary motivation for opening, say, an "Essay on Morals" written over 60 years ago, is to stimulate my mind-just as I eat sushi to stimulate my taste buds. The word "stimulation", by the way, does well to represent the higher sort of living that we all hope to sustain throughout life. Who doesn't want to be perpetually stimulated, either physically or mentally?

Regarding my intellectual project on religion and morality, getting down to business, so to speak, is what I'm feeling very compelled to do. It'll have to wait another day or two, as the time is currently a minute to midnight and tomorrow's the start of my work week. My two day work week, that is. Oh, life is hard!