Welcome to “I’m Busy Living!”

Picture of the author and his wife. © Sparks Arts Media

Hello, my name is Dustin Wills. I reside near Sacramento, CA with my my wife Megan. We’ve been married since July of 2006.
This blog was started during a period in which I became unemployed at one of the worst point in history. I passed my time turning in job applications and resumes, then following up on them. I got to a point in which there was not much further I could do to make my time worthwhile, and decided to initiate myself into one of my greater passions: Writing.

I began by posting about something unique to my personal experience. In 2003 I underwent cardiothoracic surgery in order to repair a condition known as Pectus Excavatum. The experience was quite an ordeal and I believed that sharing it might be educational as well as supportive for others with the condition. After posting the story of my experience, I received a great deal of hits from all over the world. Others with the condition or similar experiences began to email me or contact me on social networking sites. I received thanks from some who thought they were alone with the condition, believing themselves to be ‘freaks’. I continue to receive about 90% of my straight to the posts about this topic.
I’ve considered redesigning this blog to be dedicated to the topic of Pectus Excavatum, but decided against do so as I would soon run out of content to post about. I intend however, to continue to find quality content on the subject as not to alienate my largest audience, and to (hopefully) help an even greater audience of those suffering with the condition.

While as of yet I have not received very much traffic on other topics, I will continue to post about whatever I fancy. I might note that I have a particular interest in: Cultural, Philosophical, Political and Religious Studies, Art, Literature, Traveling, Food, Games, and Technology.

For a more detailed list of topics of interest included in my posts, see the Categories & Topics page.

I am often called a man of useless knowledge, due to my love of learning (more of a compulsion really) and frequent readership of various RSS feeds and Digg.com articles. When it suits me, I might decide to link to or mirror the content that I find interesting. On one hand I feel like that would be blatant filler material, but on the other hand I realize that not everyone ‘has the time’ or desire to scour the internet for interesting content… maybe I can help point out the highlights. Not to mention, it will be a more favorable way for me to bookmark that I find.

I feel I must also introduce the origins of some of my viewpoints. Everyone has such different Religious and Political opinions and ideas that I am bound to offend someone (probably even those close to me). I am not at all politically or religiously intolerant, unless I see evidence of someone infringing on the natural rights of another, so please keep that in mind when considering a rebuke for statements that I make.
Religiously, I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (better known as Mormon). I am technically an Elder in the Church, despite the fact that they would consider me ‘inactive’ as I haven’t attended services since I was 19. I respect the church’s teachings, but scoff at Mormon culture, which I believe is beginning to define the church more than it’s doctrine. While I respect the church’s teachings, I cannot say that I have a testimony of all that they teach, despite my vast knowledge on the subject. I stepped away from the church in order to evaluate myself better. Within the church I took it for granted and absorbed it all in my mind. The trouble with my situation was that I was never able to take it to heart, as I had never reasoned it out for myself. I continue to approach the topic of faith within the guidelines of my god given reason. (For a great blog on Mormonism that aligns with much of my thinking, read Pure Mormonism by my friend Alan Rock Waterman (I may link to his quality articles from time to time).
I have a great respect for the character of Jesus Christ, and my personal religious doctrine revolves around his words: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” I believe that any religion that teaches this principal as the primary doctrine and the heart of their system is good. I disagree with anything that violates that principal.
Politically, I was raised in conservative/republican home. I began to study politics myself so that I could be an informed voter. When I started I didn’t know what it meant to be a Republican or a Democrat, I thought the green party revolved around crazy treehuggers, and everyone else must just be crazy since I’ve never even heard about them. I now understand just how crazy the entire party system is. I am not currently a member of any party, but I must admit that for a time while I was still learning I joined the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian parties at some point or other.
It wasn’t until I saw one politician speak during the 2008 presidential election that I began to understand my own political viewpoint. That politician was Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.
I am a libertarian by principal, but not by party. I believe that ideally, government should stay out of our daily lives as much as possible. I realize however, that we are so far from a libertarian style government today that most of what I adhere to seems impossible to most, and outright crazy to most others. I also realize that while the principals are sound, the practicality of utilizing these principals in our current form of government is limited. There is a place for people like me, and that place is seeing that the government doesn’t get even more out of control, and trying to keep it in check.

With that introduction and warning, I invite you to read!