I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a long time. I have hundreds of ideas I want to write about. They come to me in the shower (when I’m not trying to win imaginary arguments), on the tram to work, over lunch (when I’m not trying to win real arguments), and even after a long day of mind-draining work, I can’t let them go. Or rather — they don’t let me go.
It’s 9:13 PM now. I’m sitting at the edge of a small, local swimming pool, body exhausted, lungs filled with chlorinated air, and here I am thinking again. Thinking about the blog’s first entry. It’s my very first post, and I want it to be good.
I could talk about myself at length, as I have a healthy amount of narcissism, but no, I want the focus to be on the content, and not on the author. My background is not important.
I could lay out my plans, as I have many, some are more refined than others, but no, I don’t want to box myself in yet. The exact details aren’t important either.
Instead, I’ll explain the blog’s name. I chose it carefully. From that, you can learn just enough about me and what I’m trying to do here. Names are important.
I have an on-and-off relationship with learning Japanese. Time is always scarce, and the list of things I want to do grows faster than I can manage. Long ago, I stumbled upon a word that stayed with me:
修行 (IPA: [ɕɨɡʲo̞ː], Hepburn: shugyō)
It’s made of two characters:
- 修 — discipline, study, master, conduct oneself well
- 行 — going, journey, carry out, act
Together, they mean training or practice carried out with discipline. On a deeper level, it refers to ascetic practice (from Buddhism).
This isn’t practice in the casual sense. It’s not simple repetition. It’s the silent practice of the monk, fasting in isolation, seeking enlightenment. It’s the grueling training of the athlete who competes against the person he was yesterday. It’s the maddening persistence of the artist who can never be satisfied. It’s the humble devotion of the craftsman who spends a lifetime perfecting her work.
That’s the kind of practice I want this blog to represent. That’s what I’ll do here, and what I encourage you to do as well.
I’ve been in the craft of software for about ten years now, and I’m not happy with the direction the industry is heading. I want to do what I can to make a change for the better. It won’t be easy, but that’s the point. It’s meant to challenge me — and you.
If I do this well, I may motivate you to join me on this journey. I may help you push past difficulties by showing you how I pushed past mine. I may drive myself to the edge of giving up — in which case I’ll need you to remind me why I started.
This is my shugyō.