Courage To Begin

Strength plus curiosity

Hi, my name is Matt McCloskey. I’m a musician, father, tech creator, and podcaster (among other things).

One year ago I made this account, and then promptly neglected it. I feel ashamed about that, because what I was really neglecting was something inside of me that wants to come to life, as well as the muse, god, or simple inspiration that inclined me to create this stack in the first place. I believe that inspiration is a call not just to create something, but to be who you truly are, or perhaps discover who you truly are, and neglecting inspiration is to decline to know yourself.

Why am I doing this?

I’m doing this because I want to know what I think, and writing is the second best way to know what you think, after conversation. I’d like to use this stack to formalize some of thoughts and ideas scattered throughout my head, notes app, and journal.

I hope you find something of value in that, perhaps some inspiration or new questions, and if you do, I’d love to engage with you.

Thinking is difficult.

Some thoughts are like undercurrents. We feel their pull, and their power, and so we fear them, and don’t explore them, because we don’t want to drown. It takes tremendous energy to swim in those thought waters, so we opt to stay on the shore, as inarticulate and willfully blind as that may be. I want to be strong enough to swim, and curious enough to try. Maybe that’s a good definition for courage. Strength plus curiosity.

I want to follow my curiosity, and my hope is that my strength will grow. Strength to ask better questions, improve the quality of my thoughts, and know myself more fully.

So here’s my plan: I have a list of essays I’ve been wanting to write, so I’m going to write them and publish them here. A short list of some topics I want to explore: Decisions, suffering, forgiveness, practice, religion, relationships, fatherhood, divorce, time, and potential. I will also publish some pieces I’ve written in the past that I like, but have never shared with anyone, as well as poetry, and song lyrics (bad poetry).

I’m excited to begin this journey. Thank you for reading.