The wizard is on duty

A few words before we get back into things

In my last post, I half-seriously indicated that I might take the month of July off. Much to my own surprise, it turned out I wasn’t half-serious about this at all. I was completely serious. Here we are, pretty much August.

¿Donde esta aqui?

Likely, this is an absence that went largely unnoticed by the public at large, but if by chance you just happen to be wondering where your wizard has been, suffice it to say that he’s been wandering. If you’re not inclined to so romantic an explanation, then let’s say I’ve merely been away from my desk – without even putting up an automatic out-of-office response, no less.

In my old job, that’d get you “written up.” Ooooooooh.

In large part, I’ve relished the time, but it’s never easy for me to leave my desk even when I need to – and need to, I very much did. That’s not to say I stayed away completely. I spent some time putting together this little bundle of politics for Salon  – a piece of which I’m particularly proud and have no qualms describing as some of my best work. I also put a bit of work in on an immigration piece forthcoming from Brazilian Magazine. Besides these very practical projects, I made no blog posts (obviously), wrote no poetry, songs, or prayers, dabbled in no fiction, and recorded no thoughts or notions of profundity (or lack thereof).

I also don’t want to give the impression – despite the fact that it might improve my rep as dedicated wizard – that this time was spent in some state of spiritual retreat, with much reading and meditation and contemplation. I didn’t really do any of those things. Though I didn’t plan it out in advance, the point of this time was to take a moment to stop all of those things I’m trying to do pretty much all the time. The point was to stop and exist amid layers of imperfection and lack of discipline, to let the humidity and the near-daily rain and thunder wash over me, boom through me, soak me up, with no extraneous thoughts beyond that.

Waiting, holding off, putting off, storing up, and holding in. It’s pretty much August and I’ve never been to the beach or hiked a mountain (or even anything bigger than a large hill), but I’ve somehow managed to imbibe more than my fair share of sunshine, swam in the water, basked in the fields.

It sounds nice, but it was still incredibly difficult. I consider myself fairly lazy, not to mention perpetually tardy, but when it comes to prolonged and enforced inaction, it makes me a little crazy. I actually like reading and writing and meditating and the rest. But now I’ve had my break, now I’ve done some of the things most desperately needed, whether pleasant or not, and I’m happy to say that the shop is open, the sentry is at his post, the wizard has reported for duty. Let the next season begin.

Begin it shall, my friends. Fruition and clear revelation in the light are the order of the day at Midsummer, but the true harvest has yet to begin. All those seeds we’ve been planting the last few months, they’re all still in play. Sometimes, as the planting itself stopped quite some time ago, we find ourselves actually forgetting about those seeds, but they haven’t forgotten to grow. They haven’t forgotten to sprout. Like it or not, it’s soon time for them to bear fruit, and for us to gather it up.

The bounty of the year, that which once was just potential now made manifest, it’s all just around the corner. That’s why now is pretty much the best possible time to sit back down in my chair and get down to business. There is, after all, much work to be done.

You may have read this far and find yourself wondering what the hell the point of these ramblings are. Don’t think about it too hard. There’s not much of a deeper purpose. In all honesty, I just felt compelled to say a few words of grateful greeting before jumping right back into it. I missed you all, and I’m glad to be back.

If this year’s been a wild ride so far, rest assured that it’s still going on. There is much wildness yet to come. If you’ll indulge me further, we may well enjoy it together.