About me, my voice and this blog

My name is Karen Eggleston Stark. I have created this blog as a place to archive and share some of my observations, musings, and insights on a variety of topics. I am not a celebrity – and do not seek to become one. I could not be considered any kind of credentialed expert on any subject. I am just an ordinary person who observes things with a particular perspective. I approach this with several decades of varied life experiences. I have done extensive genealogical research, accompanied by a study of history. My educational and professional background is in Social Science–Sociology, Psychology, and Social Work. I have a tendency to analyze. I really want to understand Why–why people do the things they do, why events involving people turn out the way they do, and why certain principles are relevant and true.

I have a foundational belief system based on Doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that there are eternal absolute truths and our challenge is to come to an understanding of and proper application of those truths. This involves a process of study, thoughtful exploration and pondering, with consideration of various perspectives. This takes more time than the reflexive comments we are used to on social media. I anticipate being somewhat delayed in addressing current issues, however I feel that understanding timeless truths is much more valuable in the long run than a timely response to trending topics.

My writings cover a broad range of topics, but in them I try to find commonalities and inter-relatedness – patterns, common truths and principles, and different applications.

This blog does not present any official view or position of any organization I might be affiliated with. I simply express my personal feelings, beliefs and opinions. Of course, not all of my ideas are original to me, and I make diligent efforts to attribute any ideas and especially quotes to others. I ask the same from my readers – please do not take my words and use them as your own, especially out of context.

I also have a genealogy blog EgglestonRoots which is focused on my genealogical research and experiences.