what are “probe-goads”?
Probe-goads are a genre/form that allows for any manner of expression; it’s mainly a device to explore what one is seeing, hearing and feeling, a way to think about one’s life; to probe what’s going on, “examine thoroughly and question closely,” and to do it honestly and fearlessly, to admit to things and confront truths we rarely admit to and confront. The goad comes in the wake of this self-seeing, an awareness that spurs, pushes, impels and urges us in a particular direction.
When we reread them we can point to lucid perception and insight, and sometimes we can see how we were wrong in a particular situation or simply clueless. In the end of course there’s no wrong decision, no mistakes, no missteps, not if we’re genuine, real and attentive. As Max says in 6 - get me to hospice, i’m good to go, "… every step a righteous one, even those that are wrong, those that lead to grand mistakes, righteous nonetheless."
We’re the authors and our probe-goads can be a place where we let our imagination loose and lay the groundwork for our own novel art of living.
