My writing mentor and friend Jack Driscoll has been known to say, "The impulse to write is the impulse to love." The moment I heard these words, I knew they were true. I've always had a problem with loving too much. I care too deeply at times and this causes me all kinds of grief. That is, until I realized that I could funnel all of those forces into the tip of a pen.
This blog is an effort to wrestle with my loves. Each role I place upon myself is a love obligation. I love the writing. I love my students. I love my daughter. I love my wife. I love my family and friends. I love the world at large. Each of these things brings me countless benefits, but also opens me up to multiple sources of disappointment and heartbreak. By writing my way through these roles, I am able to temper each of those emotions and navigate my day with a bit more surefootedness.
For those of you who read these pages, know that I love you. It is in an effort to communicate this sense of love, commitment, and struggle that I hope to be closer to you. Writing is, after all, communication. While I may not be eloquent when you stand in front of me, while the forces of anger and disappointment temper my ability to communicate in the moment, I am trying. It is here in this open forum, this public space, that I practice courage. It takes a lot for me to put these words down on paper and know that others will read them.
But, in the end, compassion, empathy, and, yes, love are what motivate me. The world is a beautiful place; I believe this, and I wrestle with my efforts to show this, to convey it, and sometimes the quiet space of a blank screen is the only place where I am centered enough to allow it to be true. So, this is my love letter to all my friends, family, students, colleagues, and acquaintances. I may be Clark Kent in person, but when I'm able to sit down at the computer and create, I can fly. I am Superman. I will do my best to live up to that legacy and document it here in the practice of my craft.
Don't forget your cape!
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