Well, actually, that is not particularly true. This journey started a long time ago. In a place far away. So far away it is lost in the mists of time and memory. But there is something that I do remember. I cannot think of a time that I have not wanted to communicate my ideas to other people. It has never been very clear to me why I was, let us say, less than successful at being able to do so. Maybe it is because I am not particularly fond of people in general. And not just certain people, we are talking pretty much across the board. People are very high maintenance. They always want something from you. If not material things then metaphysical ones. They want your attention. They want your time. They want your support, usually unconditional. They want you to like them, especially the unlikeable ones. Like infants, they want what they want. But they rarely ask what it is that you want. Parents and teachers. Friends and strangers. Everyone. Even the ones that ask what you want and what you need, do so to fulfill their own agendas. I Grant you that they are not necessarily malicious at heart but all of these people think they know what you need, irrespective of what you actually need. And all of this happens from the time you first start to speak. Maybe even sooner.

I could not help but become curious as to why that was. The word ‘ why ‘ plays a central part in my existence. I have always wanted to know why something was. Whatever. The normal stuff children ask that everyone makes jokes about. Why is the sky blue? Why do I have to go to bed now? Why do I have to eat those horrible Brussels sprouts? But it never stopped and continues to this day. Why do people say the things that they say, when we all know that they don’t mean it. Why do they do the things that they do, when we all know it is destructive and counter-productive? Questions beget more questions. An infinite number of whys. But not enough answers. Never enough answers. It will probably never stop. I know I can never hope to answer all my questions. I am working on thousands as we speak. Thousands more have yet to be formed in my cluttered reality. My last question, with my last living breath, may very well be:  ‘ Why? ‘.

What to do. What to do. What on earth can I do? The seed of an idea began, it must be more than 20 years ago, when I started writing my thoughts down, for posterity, as it were. I was going to start a newsletter. I was going to share my ramblings and my diatribes with the world! Websites were not such a big thing then, and I could not type, much less code a site. But I put together a newsletter, first and last issue, and got caught up in the reality of what it takes in time and effort to produce a newsletter. And eventually, the money necessary, unless you want to hand them out on a street corner or force them on various unsuspecting marks ( friends, family, and strangers, it’s pretty much all the same ). But that was not my ‘ ideal ‘. It was just another learning experience. But I did continue to write, and filled up a file cabinet drawer with piercing commentary. That no one ever cared to read. Except me. I can show you the drawer. I can show you the printed pages. I can show you the dust.  So the question now is not just the ‘ why ‘ but also the ‘ What comes next? ‘.  And the answer to that question is why we are here.  The answer is Lone Cypress Workshop.    The opportunity to continue the dream of the Great Conversation. A discussion with not necessarily like-minded individuals to discuss and debate, not only the pros and cons of what is right and wrong, but the essence of right and wrong itself.  On the never-ending path of enlightenment.  The search for truth and inner peace.

The ‘ What the Hell ‘, the ‘ Who the Hell ‘, and the ‘ Why the Hell ‘ of life.’

Let the Journey begin !