Keep on swimming

Sometimes I feel like writing in my blog is a bit of an obligation. Towards myself, towards you, towards whatever (need, perhaps?) drives me to do this. And this is not necessarily a bad thing.
I think that sometimes everyone needs a (gentle or not) kick in the, ahem, back to get going. It's all very nice being self-motivated etc to do stuff, but sometimes our natural momentum (or lack thereof any) gets the best of us. You could like something as much as you like, but sometimes you just can't deal with it. Kind of like the photography thing with me.
Looking back to what I've just written, it becomes rather obvious that I'm lazy. That's ok, I am. That's not the point though. The point is that sometimes we need someone (or something) holding a whip over our heads, telling us what to do. We need an initial kick; we need something not to motivate us, but to get us to do things. There is a distinction there, though it can be quite subtle.
To give a historical example, let's look at nuclear energy (uh oh). Just before the Second World War, scientists were keen to develop it. They were highly motivated, they were set on doing that, it would happen. Eventually. And then there was a fear that the Nazis might get it first, and within a few years, tadah! Now, it would be wrong to say that the Nazis motivated the rest of the world (or the Americans, whichever you prefer); rather, they forced them to do something. Was that a good or a bad thing? I will not go into the ethics and morals behind what happened (a needle can either save lives or take them), but fact of the matter is that it got things rolling.
In the same (well, less historically important) context, I feel that it is a good thing if sometimes we are made to do things, if we force ourselves to get off our ass and start working/blogging/painting/jogging. Otherwise, despite all our good intentions, efforts and motivation, we'd end up watching Victorian house restoration 24/7.
This post has been a wonderful example of what to write about when there is nothing you want to write about. The trick is to write and write and write. It takes a lot of doodling to produce a work of art, it takes (as Confucius I think has said) a lot of shit shoveling to reap a field of wheat, it takes a million photos to capture a single moment. At the end though, it's the final outcome that makes it all worth it. Christina Aguillera.