Introducing Me

This entry was originally written on November 15. I only recently opened up this particular blog site, so I have some backtracking to do in catching you up with what's been going on with me and, well, what I'm all about. I'll be doing this little by little, and hopefully I'll eventually catch up to the present. Cheers! - Marya

It was Patrick that convinced me to start this journal. “You’re a good writer, you have an interesting life, and you’re completely full of yourself,” he said. “Most bloggers can only claim one of those.”

Sometimes I think I can only claim one of those, too – the same (I presume) that Patrick attributes to other online journalers. Of course, with me, it’s difficult to deny. After all, one of the great contradictions of my life is that it’s been long and interesting primarily because of my egotism; however, my longevity is precisely what requires me to keep a low profile. I’m almost ashamed that I might not have thought of the online option if it weren’t for Patrick, but ever since he suggested it, I’ve seen just how perfect it is. An anonymous outlet from which I can gush and glow and bitch and… and whatever. This journal is all about me.

And I, after all, am the center of my universe.

I don’t actually mean that to sound quite as obnoxious as it may sound. It’s one of my mottoes, along with:

Just because I’m always right doesn’t mean you’re wrong.

That one is deliberately obnoxious, in a way. But the universe one: It just means that my perspective on the rest of the world is my own. One of the primary teachings of the School of the Grey Orchid is that you can’t understand what you see until you understand how you see. Or, to put it in more contemporary terms—and how glad I am that Western philosophy has finally caught up with us—humans are not objective creatures. Everything we regard and assess, we do so through lenses of our own construction. You can’t accurately interpret your object of study until you learn to view and acknowledge what you bring to your object of study.

So really, when I say that I’m the center of my universe, I mean that each individual is also the center of his or her universe. Everyone. But those who recognize and truly learn to integrate that fact are generally better able to interact with others and understand the world around them than those who believe their standpoint is unaffected by their place within it.

Hence, I am the center of my universe, and I don’t expect to be the center of anyone else’s. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll accept that you’re the center of your universe, too.

So Patrick also says I’m a good writer. That—I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear me say—is a subjective matter. I’m sure you’ll pass your own judgment on it over time.

And he says I have an interesting life. Perhaps. Or maybe I’ve just been around so long that it seems as if I do. Sure, I have plenty of interesting stories to share, but it’s not as though they’ve occurred any more frequently than they would for anyone else… with the occasional spurt of extra activity, I suppose. Then again, I suppose my life would appear more interesting to most people outside my field of occupation.

After all, it’s not every day that you meet someone who teaches people how to live forever.