Why Undamned?

šŸŽµ Undamned is the name of a duet between Lucinda Williams and my favorite band, Over the Rhine. Itā€™s on my favorite record of theirs, The Long Surrender. The Long Surrender Album Artwork This verse, in particular, resonates:

Itā€™s been my lifelong song
Whoā€™ll take me Just As I Am
Help me to get my world
Get it undamned

I often feel like Iā€™ve been looking for acceptance my whole life. Like if I could just be accepted (by him, by her, by them, by me) then Iā€™d find wholeness and be content. I still chase it, it feels like itā€™s just a part of me. So when I was thinking about what to call this piece of me that Iā€™m putting out there, this song kept bubbling up for me. I liked the idea of being an Undamned One and also an atheist/anti-theist.

Why here?

I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts recently-like a couple months ago-and Iā€™ve been craving a place to connect without all the intrusiveness of ā€œtraditionalā€ social media. Iā€™ve also been meaning to write more intentionally, and Iā€™m hoping this space will encourage me.

What to expect

I plan to use this as a personal journal, as a place to store quick quips, a place where I can share some amateur photography and stuff Iā€™ve written in the past. I also hope it provides a layer of connection that Iā€™ve missed after leaving those more intrusive platforms.

Matthew @UndamnedOne