Sunday, July 23, 2006

why do i blog?

yesterday i was on the phone with my best friend matt. his dog mayday just left this ethereal plane and he made a tribute blog about her. it is a nice window into his soul. anyway, we were talking about blogging and that it is good therapy, ect...
putting feelings, ideas and accomplishments down in a public space is not really anything new but this vehicle "the blog" is such an easy (relatively) new development.
i believe that we, as this incarnation of the species, are struggling for community. sharing deeply with our compassionate community in the past was simply part of our family and village. within the past fifty years we have changed our expectations that each individual should be independent, self sufficient and not need anyone. this is affirmed but forcing our children to fledge by eighteen and then expecting them to not need the parents.
the blog is a great anonymous way to put "it" out there. the electronic community can judge (or not judge) they can feel compassion, pride, admiration, pity, you name it. mostly they just feel and hopefully during the course being entertained. i am not sure that it replaces the "village" of lore but it will due for now.
me personally, i use it for myself. the reason that i created this blog is for my parents. i wanted them to be able to see what we are up to. after installing a sitemeter and realizing through the geographical statistical information that they hardly ever visit my blog. i then imagined that my kids might care in some future about how they were raised, the care and thought that we put into them, finally, i came to grip with the idea that this was for me. matt said that it is for pablo, danielle and him. i must admit that one of the reasons that i have forced myself to update as frequently as i do is because of them. thanks guys.
anyway again, this has metamorphosed into a journal for me and all of you, but mostly for me. sometimes i wish i could protect some entries for my eyes only (this one would probably go there) but it is healthy for me that these things are "out there".

to be judged OR NOT

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

This grandma has been lurking on your blog. I look forward to checking in on you to see how the garden is growing, how the baby is growing and getting some gardening tips. I had never heard of a chicken tractor. Now, I have searched the web and found all kinds of them. I love learning about new things and "hearing" other people's views. You are certainly right about the community of blogging. When I get the courage, I will start my own blog. Meanwhile, I hope you don't mind if I visit yours. If you would rather keep it personal, I won't "visit." I will certainly understand.

You might enjoy checking in on
www.foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/
You have so much in common.

Danielle said...

I tried to post a second ago and blogger ate it up, weirdness. Well, anyway, I mentioned that I view my blog a diary of sorts and am glad you let us into some of your thoughts and lifestyle through this venue.

Anonymous said...

The blog is the communtiy of today. In an age where people force themselves, or are forced, to spend more time away from friends and family in the name "keeping up with the Jones'"or just trying to "stay afloat", electronics and the internet provide that lifeline to those we love and miss.
Besides, if I had to wait for a letter from you, I'd die waiting at the mailbox. Don't even get me started about pictures!
BTW, thanks for the plug for the Mayday blog. Pablo, Danielle feel free to find out who this "uncle matt" is and what a Mayday is!

Anonymous said...

BTW, I just republished the Mayday blog and, yes, I added the only other picture I have of you with Mayday in it.

Anonymous said...

I was beginning to suspect that this blog wasn't really all for me . . .

There was a recent article (I think I found it on CNN.com) about why people blog, and the general idea was either to change the world (political blogs) or to do it as a personal journal that random people can have access to.

I've said once or twice in my blog that I do it mostly to make notes to myself about my woods. That seems to be the best approach for me because I always know who the audience is.

toraji said...

Thank you for your blog...I totally agree that we are all searching for community, and in our modern culture of empire thought (expand! consume! bigger, faster, more!) it's so difficult to find like minds locally.

I love reading about your family's life and homestead projects and use it as inspiration for projects within my life.

Omelay said...

marylou, thanks for posting and the nice comment. this isn't too personal, i guess that is what i was trying to say in my convoluted fashion.

danielle, i enjoy sharing and thanks.

matt, if the mail were the only way i could stay in touch with you i'd certainly use it. there are so many more efficient and speedy ways to stay in touch.

pablo, yes this blog is for you.

toraji, thank you it is nice to meet like minds.

vintagechica said...

What a great and interesting post! Ive been asking myself the same thing lately. The only thing I can come up with is that the paper journals just dont work for me and for some reason this does. Thanks for making me thing tonight!

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