RE: A TIME TO EVERY PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN
As usual, there's a lot here. I'll concentrate a little on the reading dilemma on Steemit first, then maybe a little on the spiritual part.
It's sad, but not surprising, that Steemit has a user reading problem. It's basically the same wherever you go throughout social media and the internet. A lot of it can be attributed to visibility—people just don't see what you've written.
After that, it's something else. Time people have/believe they have to read, a general dislike of reading, preference in what they read, etc. Some topics are just going to be hotter than others no matter how awesomely the others are written.
Reading in the U.S. has been diminishing for a while. Males, in particular, don't do a whole lot of it, and females are starting the downward cycle, too, though not so quickly. I'd say that the majority of users here are still male, and if anything, they like their posts shorter and less complicated. Less thinking means they can use their brain power elsewhere. :)
re: spirituality
In some fashion, to some degree, just like you, we are all on some form of spiritual journey. Some of us recognize it as such and find ways to find meaning or purpose in it, the rest of us don't realize or don't want to, and spend most of their time in conscious or subconscious avoidance. In my mind, that doesn't really work that way because there's constantly something spiritual popping up all the time to say, "Hey, lookee here! I'm still here even if you ignore me!"
Now, I have a particular path I am on, and you have another, and in reality, we're all on slightly different paths even if we're of the same religion. And, I would say, many of those are parallel, while others may not be.
At some point, though, it seems to me, they all feed into one. At what point that happens, it depends, but it happens at the moment of truth. When the truth is finally reached, whatever that is and wherever that might be. Not our own truths, or that of others, but the truth.
Funny, I just noticed that when I came to your comment I sat back in my chair, and mentally prepared to read something significant. You do get awards for this sort of thing I recall, but irregardless of that possible motivation, you certainly are one of the great ones. And I appreciate your comments.
I've been having some health issues and that affects my attitude, but seem to be back in the saddle again. I made the terrible error of having expectations. it is far better to accept what is. Many blessings.
And yes, won't we all be astonished to know the full truth of things one day. I'll be seeing your there to be sure.
I'm sorry to hear you've been ill. That's not ever fun, and definitely can undo any positive attitudes we might care to have. I thought for a brief moment I may have said something wrong, but figured life was getting in the way of a reply, so no concerns there. I am glad to hear that my comments were received and appreciated. :)
As for being "one of the great ones," I'm not sure how to take that, other than maybe simply saying, that's very kind of you to say, but that's probably higher praise than I can live up to. :)
Oh, it's just human nature to have expectations. It's what motivates us to be better and improve, I'd say. However, accepting what is is needful, too. Can't be too happy without it, right?
As far as getting awards—if you're talking about Asher's leagues, I could get an award for finishing in the Top 10, just like everyone else, but as you know, there's not a metric for the content or sentiment of the content. Whatever award their may be is strictly transacted in appreciation, if any, between the reader and the commenter.
As it is, I've waived any award STEEM for the time being, so that's not even a motivation right now. I'm still participating, though, so making comments is still a part of that. The actual content is just want comes out at the time and is free of any other motivation other than reacting to the post or comment. :)
Aah, you have such a way with words. I've always said that writing is like a foreign language: at first one struggles but as one continues to write, one can become quite fluent.
It seems that as we age our ailments become a common and well addressed part of our conversations with others. I try and avoid that, but I'll share I've been dealing with this condition for about 25 years now. It seems to be a combination of insulin resistance, adrenal fatigue, and inflammation/poisoning from toxins and heavy metals from painting. I think I've shared I was a painting contractor. Had to retire last year due to illness.
Oh, yes. I remember the house painting and the heavy metal poisoning. The other things I don't remember knowing about. Anyone of that on it's own is plenty, though, so I'm sorry to hear about everything combined. The fact you've gotten this far over the last 25 years is an achievement unto self, I believe. Probably not much consolation, I guess, but there's always going to be better days and worse days.
Well, I've been writing for most of my adult life, in one form or another, and so yeah, after a while, you can learn how to craft sentences. It's funny that writing books and writing newspaper articles tend to be on different ends of the writing spectrum in many ways, but they also have a lot in common. You don't really want any wasted space in either, surprisingly, but you also want to flesh things out enough for the reader to get something out of it. So, I try to incorporate that as much as I can in anything I do here on Steemit.