Over spring break, I had the joy of reading and reviewing, John Dewey and the Philosophy and Practice of Hope. It seemed the perfect choice to emerge myself in a philosophic discussion on hope as new life strains the muscles of my abdomen with growth. One of the main vessels of hope is our place in a line of continuity, between our ancestors and our progeny. This is why I chose my first ultrasound as the masthead, the beginning. And it is important to recognize the present moment, not just the future outcome, a hard prospect for an individual trying to complete a doctorate and plan for her first child. However, that is part of a hopeful living according to Dewey to be fully present in the current moment. I’m not living for my goals, but enjoying the journey my goals have set before me: the intrigue and challenging readings, being in the presence of great minds, feeling gratitude for the ability to work on growing as an individual. And now there is a new dimension. This is the why of the blog, a practice in documenting the present.

            So what about the strange title? Desultory Cogitating… Is it too pretentious? The point was to make the familiar strange. The familiar is the typical “wandering thoughts.” What is the point of writing in ordinary language? There is no evidence of a process, a choice… a thesaurus J