Time to Begin

I'm brand new to this blogging thing.

Been thinking about it for a long time.

Read a blog this morning that caught my eye, and decided it was time to start my own.

I'll start out slow and easy, introduce myself a little, and say a few words about why I'm doing this. "A few," in the relative sense.  Relative to the number of words in the books in the Library of Congress, I'm sure.

First of all, I really am a swordmaster's apprentice.  No kidding.  No fantasy roleplaying game, no SCA, no pretending.  Real swords.  And a real master. I'll get to more about that later on.

We've been talking for years about saving up our written correspondence and conversations, and writing a "swordmaster's apprentice" book because there are a number of things I've learned in the process that just might be useful to other journeymen in life.  And some of it is pretty interesting.  And some of it, some of the wisdom, if you want to call it that, that has been passed on to me over the past several years, I'd like some way to keep a record of, so when the time comes that neither of us is still around, perhaps some of what we know might still survive.  Face it, there are not many swordmasters still alive.  And it is unlikely- for reasons I'll also write about- that there will ever be many more.

Besides being an apprentice, I do- I am- a number of other things.  They might seem to be unconnected to the sword, but they are not. It's all part of the same thing, the same search, the same path.  The search for truth, for "what is," for the shape and substance of reality.  For the connection between people, and between everything.

I'm a firefighter, and an EMT.  Currently studying for the next level of EMT certification, with an eventual goal of being a paramedic.

I'm a Mom.  A single Mom, with three not-really-kids-anymore kids. Young adults. Good people.

I teach fencing, and CPR.  We're a homeschooling family. I was a Girl Scout for much of my life, a boy scout for some of it, and a La Leche League Leader for about 8 years when my kids were small.  Have worked in plant pathology, electrical engineering, and a grocery store.  Considered becoming a midwife at one point, ran a food co-op and have done a fair amount of web design.  I'm a photographer, a quilter, and hope to become a fire investigator.

So how does this all connect?

That's what this blog is about.

Way back near the beginning of my apprenticeship, my Master ("My" master?  "The" master?  We're going to have to talk about that word, I can tell!) once posed to me the classic Zen koan of "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

And then, he gave me the answer.

I didn't understand it then.

I think I'm getting closer.

I hope to share some of that journey in these writings.

It's going to take some time...