Why am I doing this?

So here I am, at the start of the first entry in my first blog. Throughout most of my life I have been preoccupied with questions that begin with 'how' or 'why'? It is therefore apt that I should begin with this question - why am I writing this blog?

I have always been interested in what motivates people - people I know, people I don't know, people I love, and those I don't, people like me and the utterly alien. I am especially interested in my own motivations, and I often ponder the array of forces that drive me to feel, think, and behave the way I do. A religious childhood embedded within me the idea that there is a 'truth', something fixed and certain, solid and predictable, an anchor of security in a stormy sea. As a young and, in some sense, rebellious adult I took that idea and ran with it, hauling it out of Christian waters in search of a more rational and scientific home. Thirty years on the voyage continues, and this blog now joins the journey - as companion, guide, muse, and moderator.

Thus far I have learned that there are an infinite number of truths, each of them valid in their own, often rather limited, way. Most of them (I'm tempted to say, all of them) are subjective and deeply personal, but some have wider application and importance than others. It's fair to say that the truth behind my starting this blog is of little significance to anyone, other than me. The same cannot be said of the truths underlying the political and economic decisions of our leaders. Yet, as a fellow human being, I share the same motivations, emotions and instincts that drive these leaders - including a desire for status and respect, a concern for justice and fair play, and a search for meaning and purpose. My motivation for writing this blog is closely linked to each of these drivers.

Firstly there is the vain (in both senses of the word) hope that people might be interested in what I have to say, and that my words might be appreciated. Secondly, there is a need to vent frustration about social injustice and ecological destruction. Thirdly, I have a purpose, which is to raise the profile of two greatly undervalued  human virtues - a capacity to see things from other people's perspective, and an ability to recognise our own motives. How many problems might be solved if our potential in these areas were better harnessed?

Finally, I should perhaps justify the title of this blog. The word 'interface' suggests boundaries and meeting points, and speaks of connections and communication. The cliche that everything in life is connected is true, but, we can only perceive connections by first understanding boundaries - such as, the boundary between us and them, emotion and reason, individuals and society, truth and lies, right and wrong. Boundaries define the discrete, subjective, and dynamic 'truths' that help us make sense of the world and our place in it. At the broadest level, this blog will be about the boundaries that I perceive and the gaps I see within them. It will chart my own observations of the world and guide my endeavours to see what other people see.