In conversation with a friend the other day, the topic of petitions came up. His take on them was that they’re useless. With so many of them circulating (and if you doubt that, take a look at the website of any and sundry “petition provider”), they become a lazy way  to address both vital and trivial issues. Our so-called leaders treat them as annoying side-bars and no more. I disagreed, of course. As anyone reading this off my Facebook page already knows, I sign and share a number of petitions. I don’t consider them miracle workers but with our so-called leaders paying close attention to trends, shifts in public opinion and current snapshots on same, some of them carry real potential to sway the course on some issues. To effect lasting change? I don’t think that’s their aim. Petitions belong to the realm of tactics. Long-term strategies are another issue. They rely on something else.

On what?  On love. Sorry :if the word sounds mawkish to you, you’re not getting the drift. Love as in love for what you’re doing with your time, how you’re using it, who you’re reaching with it and to what purpose.

“To the work you are entitled but not to the fruits thereof.” Words translated  from the Hindu scriptures, often quoted by someone whose blog entries I used to read and ponder before getting back to my main job i.e. trying to string words together in the right order. The man has ceased to blog – or moved his  public comments to another platform, I don’t know. The message stays. When I find those words depressing instead of encouraging, it only means I need to re-examine what I’mcalling work, and sort out my own differences between tactics and strategies.

Writing happens to be my game. When I’m doing it right, I’m focused on the doing, not on the fruits. That may be the closest I get to defining words such as “love” and “happiness”.

Onward, and so on. When I really get going,my “core” writing has a fairly  more acid tinge to it than do many of these blogposts. Whether this is significant or not, I have no idea.