I started blogging part way through 2002. I have gone on and off in my frequency of posting, but I have maintained this blog the entire time. The reason why I write a blog is to keep friends, family and the occasional passerby informed, up-to-date and entertained. I have always had comments that were open and I have read everyone, although not always responded and I have been a bad blogger in that regard. I have a sunset on when comments can be posted to any post which is only necessary to cut down on the amount of comment spam I get. I have extended that to a full year, allowing someone who finds any post to drop me a line if they so choose.

If comments have ever been closed on a particular post, I have always included a way to contact me, generally via email in the form of my contact page, but I have in the past few months included all of the other social networks that I am a part of. The comment form is probably the quickest way to get a hold of me, although, hitting me up with a message on any of the other means I provide are probably just as efficient.

I have removed a single post from this blog. It was written in anger and hurt the feelings of a colleague whom I value. It was work related and after initially sticking to my guns about posting, I recanted, realizing that the value of the vent was outweighed by the possibility that it could lead to professional trouble. Everything else that has been written, either of a serious nature or not, has been authentically me. I have been very harsh on people, but I have never shied away from the fact that they were my opinions and I would gladly stand by them.

A particular post has garnered a lot of attention lately, mainly with snarky off-site comments. It was written just under a year ago, so the comments are still open. I would gladly entertain any comments that are written, I have in the past 6 months removed all forms of moderation for comments, they get posted directly. I can understand that after posting a comment, a commenter could think that a I would delete their comment. I have only done that to spam comments, ones hawking Viagra or herbal Cialis The fact that I have included those words in my post, means I will now become the target of more spam.

The particular post I wrote was written when I was still an angry, questioning Catholic. I was researching and becoming familiar with Buddhism and its tenets and wrote the post with a half understanding of several parts of both the topic and philosophical method in which I wrote about the topic. Esther, my wife, can attest that I was a very angry man and since converting to Buddhism, my outlook and my temper have change greatly. Catholic Jered would have responded to comments that were contradictory to his beliefs with a fury, finding some flaw in his opponents logic, possibly going so low as to attack his opponents character and the things they love.

Buddhist Jered is willing to own his mistakes. I have written about plenty of things that have been heard second hand, work and personal. Buddhist Jered is also willing to admit that he doesn’t know everything, although some days at work it feels like that.

Finally, Buddhist Jered is willing to admit that 365 days can be a long time, and with the recent news that a terminal condition in one side of my family, and a health scare on the other, holding on to things in the past are futile and lead to suffering. Am I sorry for anything I’ve written, no. Not even the single post I deleted. Am I willing to admit that I don’t know everything, yes. Am I willing to make amends or atone for things that may have hurt someone, yes, that is the essence of living a fulfilling life.

If I have hurt anyone’s feeling, I would ask that they contact me in as direct a manner as they feel comfortable, either on this blog, via the contact form or in some other forum. If email is the best, please contact me: jeredb [at] gmail.com

Edited for formatting