Rain is Good for the Brain

What a lovely afternoon. Although I had to sacrifice seeing my friend the Sun, I have enjoyed this cloudy, dreary, rainy day. Sometimes I feel like I think better on cloudy days. My boyfriend and I were just discussing it, and I think there's something intellectually stimulating about rain. It's the sort of thing that either drives me to curl up on the couch with a book and a cup of coffee (mmm...), or the type of environment that becomes conducive to metaphysical speculations. I'm feeling both of these little tugs at the moment, but since I have to go to a leader's meeting in about half an hour, I decided to write instead. Writing seems to fall under the rain-stimulated category as well. If I ever become I writer, I ought to move to England, so that I could be stimulated 'most every day.

If I ever become a writer...you know, I think someday I'm going to do that. Writing is another one of those unexplained impulses I've always had--just like traveling and teaching--that I've always been kind of afraid to pursue. After all, it takes a bit of gumption to write...and it's a pretty lonely pursuit, since no one else can really participate in the actual process. But I am pretty sure that I can do it, and that I ought to try my hand at it. I didn't think I had the ability to teach or the gumption to travel, but in recent times I've proved myself wrong on both counts. Both of those pursuits have proven rewarding in many different ways. Writing will be my next thing to conquer, I've decided.

This doesn't, of course, mean that I have any clear ideas of what I want to write, or to what end. All I have right now is this vague desire to write as some sort of creative outlet. Not that I'm very creative or anything (if I were, coming up with something to write wouldn't be the problem). It also doesn't mean that I'm planning on doing anything too concrete in that direction right now. I have to finish school first, and at present school, work, and teaching occupy all the time that I'm willing to give to "working" activities. After I graduate in May, though, I think I'll be getting a lot more serious about starting a project. Maybe by then I'll know what I want to do. Fiction or nonfiction? Something historical? Some sort of fantasy/myth? Surely my knowledge and interests can combine somehow to produce something worthwhile. I just don't know how.

Anyways, maybe someday I'll be hit with a lightning bolt of inspiration. In the meantime, I'll just blog.

I think I ought to warn y'all in advance that this blog just might become an outlet for my thoughts in preparation for Bible study. Heck, I might even write out some sort of loose approximation of what I want to cover in that week's session, as a way of organizing my thoughts. Writing it out in conversational paragraph form tends to help me to do that, even better than outlining. Anyway, if a lot of these posts turn into loosely organized rants on Old Testament passages, you can't say I didn't warn you. You don't have to pretend to be interested or anything. :)

Our leader meeting this afternoon could be a sleepy affair, with all the rain (since it seems that most people's tendencies on cloudy days are opposite of mine; I may be the only one who feels intellectually brighter on these days). I am going to try to liven up the discussion as much as possible, but I find that hard to do, usually. It may sound odd, but I have a hard time talking in group discussions, even though I have very little problem leading them. I suppose I am not confident enough when I don't feel like I'm supposed to be talking a lot. Or something. Who knows. But this meeting, we're discussing teaching approaches to the Tower of Babel, which is one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament. (It may sound like an odd passage to be one's favorite, but keep in mind that I have an abiding interest in ancient languages and cultures. This is where they all got started!) We're also discussing sin, how to define it, how to approach it, etc. Should be good stuff. I'm ready to jump in (see above: rain as stimulation for metaphysical speculation).

So I guess I'd better start heading that direction. More posts to follow this week...I'm not planning on being MIA all semester!