Cumulative Effect

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday,
and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow:
Our life is the creation of our mind.
[Buddha]

Mama knit lace for close to ninety years. Whenever someone asked how she produced such intricate work, she'd answer, "One stitch at a time." Actually, anyone who can work a knit stitch, can produce the same results one stitch at a time.

I had an instructor in college who taught the same way. He presented bits of information in such small, logical steps that they accumulated into a sound body of knowledge and skills by the end of the course. I was amazed at how much and how painlessly I'd learned.

So it is with maintaining a blog. Post by post, comment by comment, revision by revision, link by link it grows. Over time, a body of writing accumulates. For me, this is a dynamic method of keeping a public journal. First, I enjoy the dialog with people who leave comments. There have been times when we have lent each other a measure of support even though we don't know each other except through what we write. Also, I like imagining that I have someone to address when I write a post. I polish my prose and check my spelling—like combing my hair and putting on lipstick before going to market. And, I like being able to look back to see how I perceived life a year or two ago.

Most of all, I think a record of little things is important down the line in time. I've been reading Ernie Pyle's last book, The Last Chapter. It is not touted to be his best reporting but it has struck me as being important. I think about how many names, dates and places I know about in the history of World War II. The Last Chapter lends another understanding. It includes the little, day to day things that put a human face on history.  This helps a student of history understand why things were the way they were.