Abort the Blog?
Friday, September 21, 2007
I'm questioning whether I should continue with this blog or not. For me, it's been a cathartic way to process my stuff and to deal with sometimes difficult circumstances. But, maybe I don't share enough of the "good" stuff. I'm trying to include the positive aspects of my life, of which there are many, but often the "hard" stuff is what gets tangled up in my head, begging to be sorted through. Which is why I write in the first place.
But, what I'm wondering is this: Should I stick to writing in a private journal? Maybe I need to reevaluate the purpose of blogging. Is there supposed to be a purpose? I mean, why blog in the first place?
All of this came up because a friend of mine told me that she wants to quit reading my posts. (She's such a good friend, and so sensitive, she actually asked my "permission" to discontinue!)
"Of course you can quit," I told her. "I tell you everything going on in my life anyway!" For her, reading tidbits about my difficulties is too much of a downer. And she feels responsible for "fixing" me. Which is the LAST thing I want to convey.
But, in a strange way I feel responsible too. . .to anyone who might stumble across my ramblings. Because I don't want to be discouraging, but encouraging. When sitting down to write a post, I sometimes think, "Write something a little fluffier. Quit being so deep." Or, I hear this voice that says, "Maybe people need something sunny, funny, uplifting, cute." And I struggle with whether to continue to writing the truth about my life--the very thing that's presenting itself to me at the moment I choose to blog--vs. shaping my life stories into a positive perspective and message that might be helpful.
In the end, I've been sticking with "what is" and not necessarily "what others might need to hear."
My prayer is that somehow, inadvertently, my weakness might be a source of someone else's strength. And that by writing, my own attitudes towards life, love, and God will grow and change. I know I'm being helped. But is anyone else?
There is more than a verbal tie between the words common, community, and communication ... Try the experiment of communicating, with fullness and accuracy, some experience to another, especially if it be somewhat complicated, and you will find your own attitude toward your experience changing. --John Dewey
The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. --M. Scott Peck
But, what I'm wondering is this: Should I stick to writing in a private journal? Maybe I need to reevaluate the purpose of blogging. Is there supposed to be a purpose? I mean, why blog in the first place?
All of this came up because a friend of mine told me that she wants to quit reading my posts. (She's such a good friend, and so sensitive, she actually asked my "permission" to discontinue!)
"Of course you can quit," I told her. "I tell you everything going on in my life anyway!" For her, reading tidbits about my difficulties is too much of a downer. And she feels responsible for "fixing" me. Which is the LAST thing I want to convey.
But, in a strange way I feel responsible too. . .to anyone who might stumble across my ramblings. Because I don't want to be discouraging, but encouraging. When sitting down to write a post, I sometimes think, "Write something a little fluffier. Quit being so deep." Or, I hear this voice that says, "Maybe people need something sunny, funny, uplifting, cute." And I struggle with whether to continue to writing the truth about my life--the very thing that's presenting itself to me at the moment I choose to blog--vs. shaping my life stories into a positive perspective and message that might be helpful.
In the end, I've been sticking with "what is" and not necessarily "what others might need to hear."
My prayer is that somehow, inadvertently, my weakness might be a source of someone else's strength. And that by writing, my own attitudes towards life, love, and God will grow and change. I know I'm being helped. But is anyone else?
There is more than a verbal tie between the words common, community, and communication ... Try the experiment of communicating, with fullness and accuracy, some experience to another, especially if it be somewhat complicated, and you will find your own attitude toward your experience changing. --John Dewey
The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. --M. Scott Peck
