Time. And again

A question asked on a philosopical podcast I listened to the start of this morning. Just the start, because it’s a writing day, and that needed to begin. And the question, the possibility of beginning, became a hook. Spring feels like a beginning, the presenter said - we feel fresher, more energised, the increasing light has us feeling happier. But it’s happened before. A beginning, yes, but nothing new.

I had no other ideas, so I started riffing on this in a notebook - just the putting words on paper one after the other from this starting point. I got nowhere particularly interesting, so after a coffee break, I did that thing of reading back what I’d written and highlighting words that, for no thought-out reason, struck me as interesting. Nearly fifty of them, and only two repeated. I transcribed them onto the screen, reduced the font size so they’d all go on one same page, and started playing with them.

I tried, by and large, to restrict myself to the words on the list, adding as few as possible (small connectors mostly), and changing as little as possible - one change of part of speech. This is the result. I’m intrigued. It has meaning for me, but I know where I started. I wonder whether anything - and what - comes across.

Feel free to comment - this is a beginning.

… Then I’ll begin

Begin
The first time
And then begin again –
once
again

Gain perception
perspective,
The reflection, apperception
of experience, practice
praxis

The axes of beginning
And remembering
beginning
And beginning
Again

Gaining knowing
resolution
execution
application
Gaining meaning
Next

Execution finished

Standing in fullness
Crafting meaning from
first experience
Becoming
iterated exploration

Application
Remembrance of things
finished
Journeys begun and
Done

Becoming next
Becoming new
Again
Begin