Why blog? Why now?

Resurrection is a dangerous thing. It usually demands something or presents a risk. In this case it demands work, and risks readers knowing what I really think or something more about who I am. So why resurrect a thirteen year-old blog?  A few reasons. One, I want to work on my writing. I've always enjoyed writing and used to be ok at it. But like anything writing needs practice to keep sharp. Otherwise it becomes lazy, unfocused, and flabby. And there's nothing worse than lazy writing. Second, I have things to say. You may not care what I have to say and that is the beauty of America- you can totally ignore me. But just maybe, you might be challenged to think of something differently, or laugh a little, or share in my random observations on the world. 

What am I going to write about? That's a good question. I'm imagining an eclectic collection of posts about those things I'm passionate about- Jesus, people, travel, living, the world around us, and maybe a little baseball. Oh, and food. I'm very lucky in that I have life experiences many 80 year olds would be jealous of. I love to observe, analyze, and contemplate those experiences. I love people, cultures, adventure, and beauty, so I suspect I will write quite a lot about all these things. I may stray into current events just a bit, but I usually keep those conversations for just that: conversations. Most current event (er, politics) writing spirals into terrible places online, but when I do journey into those areas, you can be sure there are opinions aplenty to frustrate my most progressive and my most right-wing friends. I have a political sensibility I sometimes call "aggressively moderate". I cannot deny that I try to view most things through my conviction of how I should live my life as a follower of Christ. To my point earlier, that sometimes does not fit neatly into some of the boxes culture expects. 

My main goal is to hone communicating skillfully and organizing internally why I think what I think. My second goal is to be entertaining, or at least informative. I hope you become a reader. I hope to become a better writer and thinker. I hope to have some fun, and maybe learn just a little bit. 

Shawn

The Crush

It's a funny thing about the best wine. The story of the grapes that make it is interesting. Grapes destined to make great wine are not planted in the most fertile areas. They are not fertilized. They, in fact, are intentionally stressed; denied access to water. Given enough to keep them alive, yes. Enough to stay healthy. But not instant and easy access.

You see, if the grapes don't work to ripen, they develop no character. Given all the water, fertilizer, and great earth they can handle, they get fat and watery, a very thin shadow of what they could be. The juice is diluted. The vintner loves his grapes, but he sees the potential of what is to come, not lavishing them in their youth. It is here that the foundation of a truly great wine is made.

Once the grapes become all they can be, they have struggled to hit optimum ripeness, they get picked. The hard life a grape continues. They get destemmed, taking away the parts that still hang on and contribute nothing but bitterness. Now you have beautiful, ripe grapes, ready to be made into wine.

But then comes the crush. Just when you think the grapes look pretty good, they get crushed. Put through a violent process of turning them into something even better. Here to is a difference between fine wine grapes and stuff given to jug wine.

The crush is kinda the end for the jug wine grape- In the hands of a vintner who doesn't really care about the final product, just wants to get a product on the shelf to intoxicate the masses, the crush is a necessary step to create alcohol. Nothing magical happens after the crush, just fermented, bottled and sold. Ah, but in the hands of a careful, loving vintner, this is where true metamorphasis occurs. The crush is a crucial part of extracting the essence of the fruit; all the labor that occured in the vineyard, the pruning, the painstaking watering, making sure just the right amount was given, the careful harvesting by hand, destemming, and even the crush, happened for this. The lifeblood of the fruit is spilled, given for a purpose. The vintner lets his work, and the work the grapes have done, start to come together. Giving his juice the perfect conditions, he watches as the sugar is converted. He tastes as the grape juice blooms into something more; that very lifeblood of the grape develops character, depth, and personality. He adds just the right touch when necessary; raises or lowers the temperature, puts the wine in oak to develop more character, even structure; let's it age to become perfect. You see, in grapes worked by a master, the unique character of the grape is allowed to shine, once honed and transformed under the careful care of the winemaker, but all the while bearing the unmistakable signature of the master who created it. The final product, the result of much work, patience, and pain, was worth the effort.

What a metaphor for life.

Anyway, signing off for now...