Surprising Myself!

Would you believe with this post I have hit the remarkable 100 blogposts plateau?  And I have only been blogging since the end of September!  Incredible!

Recently I came across a quote by Steve Martin, of all people, surely one of the wise men of our day.  It was this:  "The greatest thing you can do is to surprise yourself."  I loved the idea of that.  How often do we surprise ourselves by excelling at something, by accomplishing something, by changing a bad habit, by forgiving without condition, by rising above our personal status quo.  You get the idea.  This caused me to examine my own life and consider if I had done anything lately that had surprised me.  The truth is sometimes painful.  I couldn't think of anything.  I determined then that I needed to change that.

Yesterday, I happened to notice on my Blogger dashboard that my blogposts numbered 99.  There was my surprise.  Really?  Have I managed to ramble on about that many topics? Unbelievable.  And perhaps the biggest surprise of all is in the growth of my following.  How humbling it is to know that there are actually a good number of you "out there" who actually do read this thing!  Amazing.  Gratifying.

I have really been enjoying this forum and mini-world that is the Blogosphere.  There is something very liberating about being able to present ideas in a very informal, conversational format on such a wide variety of topics.  Perhaps that is the real draw for me.  I can discuss whatever seems to be floating through my consciousness.

Jamie Lee Curtis is also a blogger.  She posted a great quote from John Steinbeck in East of Eden: 

"Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of a man... And this I believe:  that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.  And this I would fight for:  the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected."

I love that!  I love the freedom of my mind being able to take any direction it wishes, to be able to put those thoughts together in some coherent way, to have a place to "publish" them, to share them with my family and friends almost instantaneously as they roll out of my mind and through my fingertips.

Are you enjoying Ardith's Quest?  I often wonder who you readers are, and where you are from, and if you ever like what you read well enough to tell someone else about it.  I know some of you may be apprehensive about disclosing who you are, and that is fine.  Anonymous comments are always welcome.  Perhaps you might just leave a comment showing from which part of the world you are following.  That might be interesting.

Either way, I hope this shows sufficiently how much I appreciate the encouragement I have received, particularly from those that bravely disclose who you are and are not afraid to share your opinions. I'm certain I never would have made it to 100 without your support.

Have a great day, my blog friends!  It will be interesting to see how far this thing takes us.  Here's to the next 100!