Kristopher Jones: I begin again...

As many of you have noticed (and some have mentioned) it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything here. It’s fair to say that over the last several months I’ve experienced a seismic change in my life. While change is never easy, I’ve always viewed it as an opportunity to grow, and to learn, and to hopefully shape the outcome into something that makes my life better.

But that isn’t what I’m writing about today.

What I’m writing about today is what this space means to me.

Two-thirds of my life has been spent in various forms of mass communication. I could argue that it’s been more than that. Either way, for the vast majority of my life, I’ve actively searched for ways to engage my audience and to create something just for them. And while I’m motivated by the attention of that audience, I am not the star. I’m very uncomfortable being the center of attention. What feeds me is the audience’s interest in what I bring to them and what I can do to pique and keep their attention.

Know your audience.

They should probably put that old saw of mass communication on my tombstone right now as it’s been my motto for longer than I ever realized. That’s why I was initially lost when my brother Jim pushed me to start this blog. So, who is my audience? Well, everyone and no one. I literally didn’t know where to start. Here I have this platform to communicate and share with the outside world… but, I had to re-wire my head a bit. It’s mass communication, but really it’s not. In fact, it’s much less than that.

It took me a while to realize that the audience here is me.

It doesn’t matter if anyone comes here. Read it or not. It’s a freeing experience for me not to have to consider the audience for a change. Knowing that some will come, however, motivates me to be accountable and to be honest – with myself.

This is a special place to me because the simple act of sitting down and writing about things affords me the rare opportunity to quiet myself and to discover my own truths (and to wrestle endlessly with words). I look forward to sharing the trivial, the inspiring, the maddening and the funny… the meaningful and the meaningless… the everyday things that I discover as I bumble into them on my way and in my time.

It’s my hope that some of what I write here will initiate conversation. For all of you who’ve been part of my life, I welcome you back and apologize for my absence. The last few months have been a time of deep, personal change and I expect that to continue as I recalibrate my life in the months to come. Just know that if you’ve held a place in my life, you still do as far as I’m concerned.

I find myself drawn to the simplest, purest wisdom in my life. I look at my dog, Bozeman, and see equal parts strength, resilience, optimism and enthusiasm. He makes the most of his life and I look forward to doing the same. While I could certainly do worse than looking up to my dog, I should probably stop short of talking to him any more than I already do… so I’ll be here if you care to join me.

And so, I begin again with a quote that I read recently…

“Life shrinks and expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

Cheers,

Kris