“Begin at the beginning,” the king said, very gravely, “and go on until you come to the end: Then stop.”

– Lewis Carroll, ‘Alice in Wonderland’

If only it were that simple.

What is a beginning?

I’m ‘beginning’ to learn to code, but I don’t really know when, where and how this began and consequently when, where and how to begin this blog.

Perhaps this blog is the beginning.

Perhaps not.

 

Does a beginning begin at the end of an end?

What came before has ended. I’ve quit my job, or my job quit me.

I was working in the soul destroying world of Advertising and innovation. It was a Dismaland inhabited by nervous Narcissists , manipulative Machiavellians and those who they have lured to the dark side under the false premise of creative freedom impossibly coupled with financial security.

I have not blogged on Advertising for over six months. That blog ended, so perhaps this blog is the beginning.

Perhaps not.

 

Can an end begin a beginning just by coming to an end?

Life is just one thing after another.

If you don’t begin something when something else ends you’re left with an impossible void.

Perhaps I’ll quit Advertising and do nothing.

Perhaps not.

Perhaps I’ll quit Advertising then become a florist, a teacher, an astronaut, a politician, a sommelier, a nomad, a fireman or an ice-cream taster.

All options of varying viability to fill that impossible void.

Perhaps not.

Perhaps an empty void is a viable way to fill the impossible void. After all, an empty void begins after the non-void bit ends.

Perhaps not.

(I had already experienced the impossibly empty void whilst working in advertising and found it unsatisfactory.)

 

Or does a beginning, by beginning, end an end?

Is it more a case of having to quit Advertising to become a florist, a teacher, an astronaut, a politician, a sommelier, a nomad, a fireman or an ice-cream taster?

After all, you couldn’t do both at once.

Or perhaps you could.

Perhaps not.

So a beginning, by beginning, doesn’t necessarily bring about an end.

Unless you want it to.

 

What makes you want to end something?

When you’re in the middle, the end is a known unknown. You know it exists, but you don’t really know what form it takes.

Why would you end something without knowing what comes next?

Why would you end something unless you felt you could begin something else that would be better than what you were doing before?

How do you know what you want to begin would be better than what you want to end doing?

You don’t know.

You imagine it might be better.

I wouldn’t have got into Advertising if Mad Men had been set in the present day and Advertising agencies weren’t so damn cool looking and well-branded compared to the corduroy clad, musty library laden microcosm of ivory tower academia at Cambridge.

Christ. I’m such a mug. Deceptively selling an aspirational lifestyle is the whole point of advertising.

 

Does the beginning of the end begin when you imagine what begins after the end ends?

I would still be in Advertising if it wasn’t for some sort of idea planted in my head.

Perhaps in my sleep.

Perhaps not.

It said “code”

I liked it.

I thought about it a bit more.

I liked it more.

I thought about it a lot more.

I liked it a lot more.

I thought about it all the time.

I got frustrated by how much I liked it.

I quit my job.

I liked it.

I applied to Makers Academy.

I liked it more.

I passed the interview.

I liked it a lot more.

I’m now writing this blog post.

So perhaps this is the beginning.

Perhaps not.