It's 5 am, I must be lonely...

Yeah, so it's not quite Rob Thomas material... but it's as close to a real song as I could get without going with the ever-unpopular "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere." =S

So... yeah, I originally agreed to stay a couple of hours into the next shift after working from 3pm to 11:30pm, just to keep an unruly patient in line. However, as tends to be the case in my life, things did not end as I had originally intended them to end. My nice, peaceful sleep in my cozy bed turned into a lot of sitting and reading (and a mad rush to Meijer at 3am to find some snacks and as many caffeinated drinks as I could down in the short span of my break)... and now blogging as well.

I heard a piece on NPR today that I found rather interesting and applicable in my life. The topic was blogs and online publishing. The main point was that one should be careful what they publish because it can come back to haunt them. After all, just because something is published one day does not mean it cannot be read 20 years from that day... but, would it still be relevant? Perhaps not.

Now, I understand that caution is important in all conversations... printed, spoken, handwritten, signed, gestured, or however else one chooses to perform their communication amongst peers. However, the sole responsibility in communicating DOES NOT lie solely within the communicator as was implied in this "report." I almost think I would be willing to say that the LISTENER requires the most caution of all.

I doubt that anybody would say that we are automatically born with the opinions that we will hold onto strongly for the rest of our lives. No... life is a process. Part of that process understandably involves making mistakes. The Internet, such as film, music, and writing, are publishing mediums that are "permanent" (I put the word in quotes because any of these mediums could eventually become completely wiped out - film can disintegrate over time, books can burn, CDs can melt with overuse, and computers/servers/routers can simply become unplugged). The existence of a permanent medium is a great thing. Nonetheless, as is the case with all things great, there must also come a social responsibility. In this case, the responsibility of the consumer of information is the ability to understand that the publisher (as well as the reader - whether or not they choose to admit) is growing in wisdom, knowledge, and the pursuit of a more complete worldview.

Then again, I believe that the ability to understand (or the lack thereof) is the key (or cause) of most (if not all) of the problems plaguing our world today.

Perhaps I will find that in the not-so-distant future, I will come to regret the words I have posted here today...

...but until that time, I ask that you bear with me on my journey to physical, mental, and spiritual enlightenment. Come with me as I journey to nirvana.

I don't want to go there alone.

Love,
David