An explanation regarding the blog title

I have had blogs elsewhere for going on three years. One I deleted because it simply became too raw, too personal. The second one should have been left standing, but in a moment of stupidity I deleted that one as well. And so... here we go again! My decision to blog at all stems from a need to write things out. I've kept journals since I was a child, on and off; for me, writing is the easiest form of communication. One thing I've learned is that - surprisingly - it is also one of the easiest ways for me to communicate with myself, so to speak. Many times what comes out on the keyboard has more clarity for me than the thoughts swirling in my own head. So, that's the first reason I blog - to work things out. Secondly, I have things that do need to be worked out. Right now my life is not in a particularly good place. I want to remove myself from this place, though at the moment I'm not quite sure how to do that. This is a start. And lastly, I have found the blogging community to be very supportive in times when I need a hand up. I discovered that I am not alone, though I may feel that way. This has helped me immeasurably. I seem to live my life very much through words - my own and those written by others. I don't know why that is, but it has always been thus. I used to wonder why, but I just accept it as a fact of my life at this point. It's not that I want to avoid human interaction, nor am I incapable of conversation - it's just that the written word is a part of the foundation of who I am. That's all. And finally - the title of the blog. A year or so ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to a fantastic set of pictures, accompanied by a truly lovely essay. The photo series is of mobulas, a genus of rays. Just looking at the pictures of these gorgeous creatures and reading the words of the essay lifted my spirits - there is such freedom in the flying mobulas. The author finishes his essay with a quote from Steinbeck about the "joyful survival of sea life." These ideas appeal to me very much - I crave freedom, I hunger for joy and beauty. I seek, to use the same phrase, joyful survival. The essay by Paul and Michael Albert is very inspiring to me for these reasons... hence the title of the blog. Please visit the essay and photos here: http://www.malbertphoto.com/mobulas1.html