The Tao of Derek
Notes and essays by Derek McElfresh
The name is grander than the site. I know. I still like it. Tao is the Way. The Hebrew word derekh (דֶּרֶךְ) means way, path, or road. My first name is Derek. Most people will never get the whole joke, which may be part of why I like it.
I write here about ideas that keep following me around, usually from work, law school, books, faith, travel, or some combination of them.
Chess, games, and writing
The unknown state
Imagine you and I are playing chess.
On my last move, I still had prep (prep here meaning the memorization that chess players undergo of board states and their optimal moves). Given the current board state, now I don't. Let's call that the unknown state.
On that first turn in the unknown state, I have a great number of possible moves. Ostensibly there is a perfect move, and I would like to make it.
I think that’s mostly how life feels.
Notes toward a list
Things I keep coming back to
- Unknown states
- The board state where the prep runs out and you have to choose among a great number of possible moves.
- Public language
- I spent years writing for a public school district. I still think about what institutions say, what they leave out, and who has to live with the result.
- Reading
- I do not read to finish books. I read because I expect some of them to rearrange the furniture in my head.
- People and places
- I take pictures of people. I also take a camera when I travel. Sometimes it shows me what I was paying attention to before I knew I was paying attention to anything.
- Faith and inheritance
- Faith is part of my daily life and my personal history. I think about how belief moves through a family, and what comes with receiving it.