Passive Voice

I'm more or less paraphrasing here, but Russell Crowe once said in a movie, "I'd rather regret what I did than what I did not do." I first saw this quote as someone' siggie on the oscarwatch.com forums, and pondered its truth briefly before moving onto the next thread.

I bring up this quote again because I think it applies perfectly to me: I am a passive person. I don't do things, only to lay in bed later and regret it. If I were to choose one word to describe the overarching nature of my personality, it would be "passive." I like to sit and watch and observe. I do not like to do. I believe strongly in the power of observation, in taking a step back to soak up the details. However, this is essentially like watching movie, isn't it? I observe the world through a TV screen, watching closely and patiently, but being a passive nonparticipant in the world that lies beyond, and living life through second-hand experiences rather than my own. Am I satisfied with that?

Of course not. To some degree maybe, but often not.

The word "passive" has such negative connotations, mostly tarnished by academic no-nos such "passive reading" or "passive voice." I do think that people are often too bent on action in this go-go world and forget to observe. Of course, I am the exact opposite and that is no good either. This blog is part of an attempty to rectify my passive nature and force myself to do something.

About a year ago, I signed up for the oscarwatch.com forums, and have been an avid and obsessive reader since then. I'll lay the facts out bare:

Number of months on oscarwatch: 14
Number of hours spent on oscarwatch: 500+
Number of posts: 0

Well, the first step toward correcting a problem is knowing you have one.