Introduction... Introdução...

 

Here's a ramble just to introduce this blog...

As you might have noticed, I use two different languages, and I will most probably write posts either in portuguese, my mother tongue, and english, a language I've been using for more than half of my life... this post for some reason started in english... my mind jumps from one to the other, without me even noticing, so I never know which language my mind will choose.

 I apologize already for any mistake either on grammar or spelling or writting style in general, as I'm not a writer and I don't particularly follow any style... I do enjoy not following rules when it comes to wRitiNg, so, excuse me for that... I dont like full stops for example...and I don't know why... maybe because I always sense there is always more to say...

 My main goal is writting thoughts, and my thoughts dont follow any particular rules as far as I perceived... I would much prefer handwritten posts, as it could be more personalized and would save me lots of time, but I don't think technology is there yet... I'm not a very updated tech person either, I mostly write on handmade notebooks...

WHY A BLOG? well, I had 2 blogs before...and both for a very pragmatic reason, as I am a very pragmatic person most of the time... I was sharing what I was doing and thinking with a significant group of people who were already interested in my path and wanted to follow ... this was back in 2005...lots of my relationships at the time enjoyed my reports and stories which I used to share regularly by e.mail...as the list of e.mails was getting bigger I thought the easiest way for all was to start a blog... and it was... it's now a nice record that stays online for me to access... I sometimes go back and read some of those stories, and maybe other people do too, I dont know... 

The second blog was for a project I started... my personal blog became mainly news about the new project anyway, and I was feeling almost a sense of loss of my identity... very interesting to observe... As it was a communal project, I wanted others to be able to write their voices as well, so I started another blog and eventually someone else decided to start a web site which I didn't take part at all, thankfully... To be honest, it also started to get harder and harder for me to make time to write, nevermind  typing things, as this project evolved and the work outdoors got more demanding... This project is actually a place where I currently live with my wife, two dogs, 3 cats, 9 chickens, many other animals, trees and plants, water springs, mushrooms, etc... It is a 5 hectar piece of beautiful land in central Portugal, where I'm implementing a permaculture design since 2006, and it's open for many other people and activities... it's off the grid and for many years without any power source... It was hilarious back in the day... I had to walk 20 minutes through fields, get a train for half an hour to a nearby city which had a Youth Centre where I could plug in my laptop to charge and use their free wi-fi... good old days :-) ... I would only live off donations at the time (path I chose since 1998), so money was sparse and I didnt really have any budget for a solar system or anything like that... no bother either...the land itself was bought by a miracle of many people's generosity who sent money to buy it because they believed in what I was doing and the dream I had... way before "crowd funding" time, but pretty much the same principle :-) ... a long story...the kind of story people loved following on a blog...  

It's interesting to realise how much we change in life, specially my opinions and views in all sorts of topics (also my writting skills :-))... and that's sometimes an inconvenience when we write things and publish them... I sometimes read old posts and realise how different I think today... I even disagree with myself sometimes :-) ... but at the same time is nice to see the constant evolution of thought... and that fascinates me... and it has helped me to be more and more tolerant, forgiving and inclusive of the many ways people think, or act, and the many opinions we can have about the same things at a certain specific time of our lives... Afterall, we are all on a journey, and at some degree, trying to figure things out (well, I am), and have an opinion about stuff... I have to agree with Socrates, after a while you just have to admit that you actually only know that you know nothing... life is a mystery (agreeing with Madona here :-)...), God is a mystery, human species is a mystery, nature is a mystery... and I love mysteries... and the many journeys that chase may take me :-)

Anyway, I will give it another go, with this blogging... I'm not really sure how regular my posts will be, mainly because of my lack of time on screen (out of my own choice)...actually, this might not be the best season to start a blog, as the work outside in the farm calls me... its way much more exciting to do that then to be in front of a screen... So, apologies in advance for my possible lack of regular content... this is afterall a simple hobby for myself...

i love thinking... I love following my thoughts and see where they lead me... I tend to journal and sometimes there's interesting things I would like to type and share, and actually save for myself to read one day later... that might be my main motivation...

It was so interesting to choose a name for this blog... I'm not necessarily looking for anything original or spend hours thinking about a perfect name... so I started to brainstorm possibilities and also availabilities as there are millions of blogs around already and many names are taken... 

I like the double meaning of "W@ndering", both words "wandering" and "wondering", which so often present a difficulty when I'm writting and I'm not really sure which one I should use... one is like travelling and searching in my mind, the other is something about curiosity or amazement...  I wanted to use these two words and the symbol @ comes as a real helper here... My process of thinking and writting involves this, the search, the journeying sometimes without a specific destination, until something I write calls my attention, makes me curious and sometimes amazes me with the results my mind achieves... 

But I wanted to have a portuguese name too, as my writting can be in both languages, so I came across this word "Errante" , which I love... it has an interesting meaning...  it can mean one who wanders, like travelling without a certain destination, as if you're lost or uncertain, but the root of the word can also mean "one who makes a mistake"... and that fascinated me, because actually, so many of our mistakes lead us to where we need to go, or teach us amazing things we will never forget... this thought in itself could lead me to so many other interesting thoughts, but maybe not right now, as this is getting long already :-)... it can also mean "vagabond", which was also a word and concept I was particularly attracted to back in my early twenties... I remember something I wrote at that time that started with "As a vagabond I travel the world" (...como vagabundo, viajo pelo mundo...)... this was when I started a journey with a small backpack, no money, with a goal to go to India... another story :-)...

so, a blog for my W@ndering mind, a minha " Mente Errante" ...

Anyway, I only have 13% battery now and it's time to go open the chickens so they too can wander :-)... 

And as I finish I just remembered another thing that I enjoyed about blogging... the fact that it is a really nice way for myself to process a week or a day and find the things I possibly would like to share... As an introvert, writing is also the way I am able to express myself better... I 'm not in a rush, not presured by social expectations and not needing to find a gap when all the extroverts allow me to speak :-) ... I like humour as weel, so I hope you don't take myself too seriously :-)

here you go, I hope this was not too long for an introduction, and I hope to write more...soon ...

Much Love and Happy days to all ...