I talk about steem a fair bit but it isn't because I am a cheerleader, nor am I a hater. I think I give and take fairly evenhandedly in various ways on this platform and I hope I do more to benefit it than harm it in the long-term position. I know that not all of my ideas are achievable or even wanted if they were and I also know that I get things wrong or confused from time to time. I am okay with this approach I am okay with experimenting here and failing, this is my Sandbox.

I am not much very knowledgeable about program creation but a sandbox is defined as:

It is often used to execute untested or untrusted programs or code, possibly from unverified or untrusted third parties, suppliers, users or websites, without risking harm to the host machine or operating system

The reason Steem is my sandbox is essentially because it is a safe place for me to play around with a range of ideas and processes that I haven't been able or willing to in the real world. There is a cost to attempt things in the real world as people you know are going to judge you on them and that can come with a penalty, especially if you are like me and run a one-person consultancy where word of mouth is the advertising.

Here, I feel free enough that I can write poetry and fiction, I can look into psychology and philosophy, present my photos or talk about financial matters and the struggles I face in the real world. It is pretty amazing to have this kind of outlet and, it is pretty amazing to have been able to surround myself with people who are on a similar journey along different paths themselves.

It is also an incredible place to learn and for me, one of the largest and steepest learning curves is to put myself in 'harms way' presenting negatives, criticizing or, looking into topics that are not uncontroversial in nature. It hasn't been this way for most of my life even though I am happy to play devil's advocate and take the fall. That sounds like a contradiction but in the walking world, I am able to build up the relationship that allows for open discussion but here, all-comers are welcome to join in the conversation. Normally in such an environment I would err on the side of caution but here, I feel somewhat empowered to speak openly.

This is quite strange considering I am actually aware of the immutability of the blockchain and that one day, someone may take my words and twist them into mean something else less charitably and, there would be little I can do except say, "yep, I wrote that once upon a time." Of course, the once upon a time will be dropped off the narrative as it makes it sound like people can change, and of course, that is not true. We are all the same no matter our age, experience or the new information we have added to our mental toolkit.

I wonder if people will note the sarcasm?

But, it is in this sandbox that I can dig around with my plastic shovel and, much like my daughter in the picture above, fill my bucket with what I have uncovered. Each piece of writing here reveals more to me and, more from me and one day, if someone want to go through and read the 1.7 million odd words I have written in the sand so far and whatever is to come, they would likely get a pretty good idea of what kind of person I am and would also likely see a clear line of progression.

They would see me change form as they read, shift back and forth across blurry lines and take sides I might not once have taken and perhaps switch back again. This is not about a lack of commitment, it is about increasing commitment to discovery, understanding and the application to accomplishing my life's purpose which has two main points.

• Find out who I am
• Use who I am to make the world better

This requires an endless querying of myself and the environment along an always moving path with twists and turns that has no terminus other than death. I am not planning on dying soon though, I have too many questions that are currently unanswered. It would piss me off to have so many open mental loops in the eternal blackness some think will be an afterlife.... maybe that triggered someone. Good, they can use it to query their own experience too.

When it comes to a place with the space to explore the who am I and the how can I make the world better? questions, I am yet to find a more effective space than this. On my journey across this blockchain has progressed, I have learned a great many things about me, my world and other people that inhabit it and, the more I traverse, the more potential and opportunity I see and have available to act for better.

No, Steem isn't perfect, there are many problems that it faces today and will face tomorrow but, no matter what happens in the future, people can invest themselves into doing the work here that will fundamentally change the world. Their world.

What more can someone really ask for from this life?

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]