My Feet

My Feet

What an extraordinary topic for our writing teacher to set for homework. My unimaginative mind goes immediately to the literal-ingrown toenails, dry heels, unattractive, functional. But, perhaps it is intended to provoke the mind towards a metaphor?

Our set reading directs us to George Orwell’s views on motives for writing.Orwell suggests sheer egoism, I have plenty of that. Aesthetic enthusiasm, is always present. Historical impulse, certainly.Political impulse, for sure.

Why do I write my blog, venture occasionally into Facebook and sometimes Tweet? Because I like writing and getting my passions expressed and public. Getting it ‘off the chest’. I am attracted by Australian born UK based psychologist Dorothy Rowe’s  thesis, that our psychological make up depends on “how we see the world and how we see our place in that world”.

At heart I am an emotionally driven optimist. We live in a wonderful country in extraordinary technological times. None of this is our doing, we were just lucky to be born where we were and when. (Even with writing, technology impacts. The ease of corrections and rewrites should result in ever better expression and presentation.)

Notwithstanding, (I love that word) all of the world’s horrific trouble spots, we need to remember how free markets and free enterprise has lifted millions out of poverty and disease and the process continues. With that progress comes the ability to correct our environmental misdemeanours and stem population growth. On the other hand,it’s a great pity that we have not learnt to live more peacefully with each other.

If we are to encourage this ongoing social progress and the search for peace, we need to spell out the principles involved (as we see them), as we attempt to influence public opinion by good writing.

We need to make our footprint.

David Boyd

29.08.16