Author: Dan Morgan
First of all, let me thank you for visiting my website and taking the time to read this first blog. Most of us on a daily basis feel like we are sandwiched between two elephants with regard to absorbing new information: We always have less time to read than we would like, and we are continuously bombarded by so much more to read than we can ever get around to reading. Usually, we just try to get out of the way of the elephants.
So if you are reading this, I am deeply grateful for the time you are taking to join me, and for your opportunity cost of not spending your time reading the label on your granola bar packaging.
When developing this website, there was a central question I needed to answer: “What do I want to say (other than, of course, trying to hawk my own works of fiction)? Why should anybody read this thing?”
The answer came to me in one of those moments of utter clarity that we usually have when we wake up at 3.30 in the morning and realize we hold the full and complete solution to the Theory of Everything (and then promptly go back to sleep and forget it).
The answer I was fortunately able to retain is: Use my immense powers of internet communication to encourage everyone to “Explore”.
Right here is where a point of definition is most crucial: The verb To Explore does not apply solely to such exploits as riding a horse deep into untrammeled regions of Mongolia, or snowshoeing up the Brooks Range of Alaska, or even venturing into a shopping mall to see if any of the Big Box stores are still in business. No, “exploring” is a function of the mind, the thing we do to keep our intellects alive and growing, and it can take as many forms and shapes as a political candidate’s campaign platform in the last two weeks before an election. Exploring is an activity that should be done throughout one’s life. Age has no bias here.
Examples: When we were kids, some of us were curious about just how sharp a razor blade really is, and so one day we ‘explored’ the edge of one with a thumb and learned the hard way why the phrase ‘razor-sharp’ has meaning. Or as teens, we decided to explore just how late we could stay out with the family car on a Friday night, thinking. . . I can get away with this; they won’t hear me come in at 3 in the morning. We learned the answer to that one the hard way, too. As adults, some of us ‘explored’ the limits of leniency of the IRS when it came to not reporting certain incomes. I’m sure you know how that one ends up as well.
I don’t recommend any of these. Instead, exploring is simply. . .doing something you haven’t done before. It doesn’t matter what it is or how many others may have done it before you; if it’s new and it’s interesting to you and will make good use of your brain cells, do it! Keep on exploring, all your life and right up to the end, which is of course, the ultimate exploration for us all anyway, even though we should probably keep that one fairly close to the bottom of our bucket lists for now.
The North Face clothing and equipment company has long used the tag, “Never Stop Exploring”. I like that, a lot. If they weren’t already using it commercially, I would certainly have snagged it for the theme of this website, but it’s theirs, so I can’t. No matter, the phrase is about as succinct as you can get in describing the philosophy behind The North Face products. “Never Stop Exploring” also quite nicely suits the message of my website and my posts and I hope they will forgive me if I briefly borrow it.
Maybe someday when you see a North Face ad, you’ll think of authordanmorgan.com for just a minute.
So the theme I wish to apply to my ramblings is that there are many forms of exploration and I encourage you to use them all. As the tag lines on the pictures of the landing page herein urge: Go someplace you’ve never been. Learn something you didn’t know. Read a book you’ve never read. (And reading one of mine, of course, would be a plus for both of us.)
As I blog my way along, I will continue to address that theme of exploration. I truly hope you will explore all that our world has to offer on your own in every way possible, and maybe explore with me a little as well as I lay out a few thoughts about traversing the great wilderness we call Life. Snowshoes not required.
Thanks for being here. See you next time.