Who is The Scribbling Sage? That's what this piece is all about. Of course, I must have somewhat of a high opinion of myself, considering that I call myself The Scribbling Sage in the first place. The name was simply the result of a little brain-storming session. Another possibility was The Penning Pundit, but, I think I made the right choice. I don't know, I believe that you will at least find that my opinions are not predictable and many times can be far from mainstream. Other times I will be as mainstream as one can get. Hopefully, I go where the logic takes me, wherever that may be. Far too many people today let emotions lead them to some fairly illogical conclusions and positions. I try very hard to not let that happen to me. Some would perhaps chalk it up to some sort of mid-life crisis, but in the last few years I’ve made some major changes to my life. But these changes involve far more than some mid-life crisis. For the first time in my slightly over 50 years, I am just beginning to embrace the true me. Most of that will be reflected in the material I produce for this site. I have always had the deep desire to create, but because of painful shyness that has plagued me for years, I didn't have the courage to pursue those goals, until now. Music is my true passion. I have been playing guitar off and on for almost 30 years now. When I began, I had unrealistic goals of being a rock star. I should have known better. I was far too shy to ever follow through with that. In addition, at the time, I didn't have a real passion for the music. I just thought it was cool to play the guitar, and thought it would be really cool to play the guitar in front of thousands of adoring fans, mainly girls of course. I actually wrote a few decent songs in those first few years. But because of a couple of reasons, I put the guitar aside for a long time, only picking it up here and there over the years. Several years ago, something happened that began the process of awakening that has given me a new start in life. I had the guitar in a storage shed. I hadn't played in years. I was getting something else out of the shed. I just picked up the guitar and started playing a few things. That got it back into my blood. After buying a better amplifier and a sound processor to help with getting a better sound, I started to make some pretty big leaps in my playing. And now, the music is what's important, not fame or money. Not that I would turn those things down. But realistically, I know that of all of my creative pursuits, the music is the least likely to reap any financial rewards. But the music kind of lit a fire in me that has just flourished. Part of this transformation, that I am undergoing, involved divorcing my wife of 17 years. I simply could not be the true me, while staying with her. She is a great woman.  But we simply got to the point where we had nothing in common. This was made perfectly clear when it came to the music. My ex-wife is a Pentecostal Christian. I knew this when I married her. I thought I would buy into to whole thing eventually, but never did. When I had my breakthrough on the guitar, I got positive comments from many family members and friends who happened to hear me playing around the house. And playing when other people were around was a huge leap in itself. But there was never anything positive from her. After all, this was worldly music I was playing. If it isn't Christian, then it isn't any good, in her world. Obviously, this hurt quite a bit. But it ultimately let me know that we were going in two different directions. I had to leave. Soon after the awakening that I had on the guitar, I began work on a novel. I had this idea for a book bouncing around in my head for years, but didn't seriously begin outlining it until this point. Soon after that, something else happened, albeit small, that gave me a boost in that area. I had never told anyone I was working on a book. And to be honest, I wasn't working but so hard on it anyway. I guess I just didn't believe in myself all that much. Then I had to take this class at work. I had heard beforehand that the woman giving the class liked to use icebreakers. She would have everyone share something about themselves that no one knew. I decided that I was going to share that I was writing a novel. That was the best thing that I could have ever done. It was like I was proclaiming to the world that yes, I am a writer. And after several years, the book is complete and will be self-published on Amazon soon. Not wanting to put all of my eggs in one basket, I will also write material for this site on a variety of topics. Basically anything that interests me enough, will end up being written about at some point. I have had websites in the past. My first was way back in 1997. Back then the content reflected my religious views at the time. The content here will involve religion, but from a much different viewpoint. Part of my leaving my wife was the need to live in a way that reflected by real views when it comes to religion. For far too long I was pretending to be something I was not. Something I believe far too many Christians do. Do I still believe in God? Let’s put it this way. I’ll never be an atheist. To me, there has to be more to this world and indeed the entire universe than meets the eye. Now that I am living authentically, I am starting to overcome the shyness to a certain degree. Some people probably wish I would shut up actually. And I have reconnected with someone from my past that lets me be the true me. Becky and I met at church when we were kids. I had a thing for her back then, but was just too shy to ever do anything about it. We hadn't seen each other for almost 25 years. Right after I left my wife I ran across Becky on Facebook. After seeing a comment that she posted about her marriage falling apart, I decided to write a little note to her to encourage her. After some banter back and forth, we decided to meet. And the rest is history. I am in love with a woman who loves me for who I am. She embraces and supports all of my dreams, no matter how far-fetched some of them may be. Becky doesn't know what to call us. Boyfriend and girlfriend is fine with me. But she thinks we are too old for that. Not me. I prefer to remain somewhat childish. On Facebook, we are in a domestic partnership. I'm not sure she liked it when I sent that request to her. But it is a technically accurate description. I never had children. I guess I knew that I was never settled enough in my spirit to do that. I just had too many dreams that kept gnawing away at me. I've always had the sense that I just wasn't cut out for a normal nine to five type of life. I somehow found my way into a career that is somewhat interesting and pays well enough. But I simply cannot do this until retirement. I am numb at this point already. I have some pretty big dreams. But I would be happy simply making a living creating. Writing, photography, whatever it is, I just want to create.   So, I've given you just a glimpse into the life of The Sage. You will discover far more as I fill this site with material. Hopefully, my viewpoint will be something that you value, for whatever the reason may be. But one way or the other, I will share my journey in these pages. My life is an open book; at least it will be when I get done. But there is always something to learn from the lives of others. The intricacies and peculiarities of people interest me to no end. And I indeed have many myself. Enjoy the ride with me. Joe Elliott  aka  The Scribbling Sage