So…Why DO I Blog?…

I have been giving this some thought lately…especially since my time is so limited. Why blog? Why bother? I can think of lots of reasons why people in general blog…but why do “I” blog? I have several blogs, but I am limiting this post to my survivor blogs…of which I have three.

One reason is to be able to feel like someone out there is reading…someone is hearing me…someone is accepting me and my reality.

Another reason is that I hope that others will find some benefit in what I write…which, of course, won’t happen if I am NOT writing! I hope that, as I share my story and my life, someone will see his/herself and find hope.

It is also cathartic. There is something about getting my thoughts out on “paper” that helps me move forward. And the idea that someone might actually be reading it…even better.

Hmmm…why else do I blog? I think it helps me to order my thoughts. Sometimes things are swirling around in my mind and writing them out helps me to organize them a bit and put them in proper perspective.

Sometimes it is an emotional release. Things are pent-up inside and I just need to get them OUTside of me. Blogging helps. If I only write…they sort of get outside, but really they feel as if they are still stuck inside my little world. When I blog, they REALLY get outside…to another world. I cannot really explain why, but it feels different.

I think that some of it, too, is that I miss being able to go to talk with someone every week…to be able to have a debrief session where I can get affirmation and ideas. Of course, that does not really happen on the blog unless I get comments…which I seldom do.

So…are comments important? They can be. I admit that it would be nice to see more comments. It is nice to know that people are reading. It is nice to know if I am striking a chord with someone…if they are relating…or if something I write is helping someone. Of course, there are also stats that tell me people are reading…and that is sufficient.

Then there is the fact that I do enjoy writing. Of course, I don’t want to write simply to write. I want to write something worth reading. I want to write with purpose.

There are also my art blog and my poetry blog. I hope to catch up with getting my art uploaded so that I can focus more on my poetry blog.

Every person has a story to tell. Through my art, my poetry and this blog, I hope to tell my story. Maybe it will help someone.

It Is Time…

I have thoughts in my mind and heart. I am not sure how they will come out, but I will give it a go.

Part of being in the blogosphere is that people follow people’s blogs. They list them in their blogrolls. They read them. They comment on them. With the millions of blogs out there, how on earth does one decide which ones to follow and which ones to comment on?

I have different reasons for trying to follow someone’s blog. (Please note that word “try”.) Sometimes it has to do with them sharing information that is useful to me…and, perhaps, useful to others. Perhaps we share a common experience…or a common belief. Perhaps I have connected with the person in some way…either in person or online. Perhaps, I have discovered that they have my blog on their blogroll (which always amazes me). Perhaps, they are struggling and do not appear to have much support. There are many ways to connect and many reasons for trying to follow them and stay connected.

“Trying” is the key word here. The fact is that there are too many blogs for me to follow…too many for me to comment on. So, how do I decide what to read and what to comment on? It isn’t easy. With all the options I listed in the above paragraph, there are still simply too many to follow. To add to that, as I read others’ blogs, I see commenters I relate to and, so I end up looking at THEIR blog! It seems the list just keeps on growing. Then I feel badly because I cannot keep up. I need to be realistic.

One of the things I tend to look for, in addition to relating and feeling I have a connection with the person, is those who have the fewest…or even no…comments. I feel they need the greatest support. Oftentimes, I do not comment on a post simply because there are so many already commenting. I tend to look for the ones with the fewest comments. Still…I simply cannot keep up.

Add to that the blogging challenges that have put out there of late…blogging daily…or at least weekly. I saw that challenge and my heart sank. You see…if everyone is posting every day…who has time to read every day…and maybe even comment every day. Mind you…I am NOT saying people should not post daily if they want. That goes back to why do we blog? If someone wants to blog every day…that is fine. However, I cannot read it all. That is something I think daily bloggers tend to forget. The more people are writing…the less people are reading. There are only so many hours in a day.

Which of course leads to the flip side of this. In the process of trying to follow all these other blogs, it is easy to lose sight of doing my own writing! I have several blogs…for different purposes. I have a set of three survivor blogs that I am trying to maintain, but I also another set of blogs for a different purpose. That set will, hopefully, soon be condensed down into one more focused blog. The more I read…the less I write on my own blogs.

That is actually OK…for a season, but it is not good for a long time. Which brings me to the question…why do I even blog? It is something I have been thinking about for the last week or so and I am going to answer that in another post. I am realizing that I need to really think through my reasons for blogging. Once I clarify that I can decide how to proceed from here.

It is time…for me to start writing again…right here…in my own blogs.

 

So Many Good Bloggers…and So Little Time!

There are so many interesting bloggers out there…so much good real-life writing to read. Alas…there is only so much time in a day…a day that I share with others in offline life. So, even though I have blogs listed in the sidebars of  my blogs, I don’t have the time to keep up with them all.

They are in my sidebar because I feel they are of value…the authors have something important to share and it is worth reading when I can. I hope that having them in my sidebar will also encourage others to check them out.

What an amazing world we live in where so many can share of their hearts with so many others. I cannot count the times I have grown through hearing someone else’s perspective…or simply not felt so alone through reading someone’s else’s experiences. I like to encourage others just as I have been (and am being) encouraged.

Viva la Internet!

Blogrolls…

No…not dinner rolls…or the boat rolls…or waves roll…or any other kind of roll. Blog rolls. Every once in a while, I find that I am on someone’s blog roll. It never ceases to surprise me and amaze me. Each time, I think “what on earth do they find in my writings that make them worthy of being put on someone’s blog roll?”

Or I look at my subscriber list. Now…it does not show me who is subscribing. It is just a number. But that number represents real people who think my blog…or a particular post…is worth reading. Again…whenever I happen to look at that part of my stats…I am amazed. Moi? People think moi has something useful to say? Why? It makes me stop and think about why I write.

When I first started blogging, I was sick of the forum scene…not that all forums are bad…they are NOT! In fact, I have experienced some incredible healing in forums. Yet I have also experienced some of the deepest wounding. Plus, forums are limited in their readership. I wanted to be able to share with more people…and, hopefully, get more input. So, I decided to start blogging!

It was my hope…and still is…that when people read here, they find someone who understands…who “gets it”. Someone whose life experiences might not be identical (is anyone’s ever really anyway?)…but someone whose experiences emotionally, and maybe even mentally, are similar.

I hope that you can see someone who keeps on fighting…who keeps on pushing through…even when she wants to give up (like now…but that is another post). I hope that, as I share what works for me…and what does not…it might help you find something that works for you. Or maybe it will help you to not feel so badly if it is not working for you. After all…if it did not work for me either…then just maybe…it is not us. Maybe it is the whatever it is that we were trying that did not work. Or maybe…we just need to work it in a different way and we can help each other to find that way.

I hope that we can learn together. When people comment and share their thoughts, it stimulates dialog. I learn from dialog. I learn from others…which is why I read others’ blogs, too…when I can get to them. My life often makes that difficult, but I do make the rounds when I can. And I always try to find something to comment about in others’ blogs. I do that for two reasons. One is to let them know that they are being read. The other is to affirm them…to encourage them. I know what it is like to write and wonder if anyone is reading…if anyone is “listening”. I know what it is like to share struggles and get…nothing.

So…here I am…amazed again. I just discovered my blog in a blogroll at Crazy-making. I almost have to laugh. The name can sure fit my life at times! Crazy-making. I am working on making it less crazy-making. *smile* I am honored to be included. This blogger is trying to make lists of client bloggers (as opposed to therapist bloggers) and also art bloggers. Very interesting!

It reminds me that I have been wanting to get some of my art work up here…even though I am really not an artist. The focus of my art work is therapy. Believe me…artistry is NOT my talent. My difficulty in getting them up, though, is getting some decent photos of them. I took some  a while back…but I only got some pieces and the quality of the photos is rather poor. I have a much better camera now. It has been a project on my to do list for some time to go some place where I know I can probably get better pics of them. Better lighting. More room.  I need to get that done in plenty of time for me to put something together for an upcoming webinar I am doing on art therapy from a non-artist’s perspective.

Well…that’s it for now. I have lots to do today so I am not sure when I will get back here. It may not be until tomorrow. I hope that everyone reading is doing well. If you are struggling…remember that you are NOT alone! There ARE those who do understand…who do get it…and who do care. Be good to yourself. Also remember that there is a Creator out there who does want to touch your life…who wants to set you free.

A Study

Something interesting happened one day last week. I posted on two blogs in the same day and immediately received two requests (via the comments form) for me to participate in a study on bloggers and why they blog. Two radically different blogs…two requests. This left me with a dilemma…if I were to participate, which blog would I use? And what about the other two blogs…the ones I did not receive a request on?

So, I wrote the requester. She found my situation interesting, too, and had to think through how I could do the study. She worked it out that some questions I should answer with all of my blogs in mind and some with a specific blog in mind. I am not sure how well this will work, but we will see.

I tend to get triggered when I have to fill things out…like this survey. However, she is willing to work with me on that, too. She had not idea when she placed the comments that I was the same person. This is because the survey requests are tied to email addresses…which is also interesting. Why put the request in the comments rather than emailing them? I have no idea and I do not think it is necessarily significant, but I am curious…so maybe I will ask her.

So now I need to look for a time when I am feeling good and have a block of uninterrupted time so that I can tackle this.

I suppose that I could have just answered as two different people, but that somehow did not feel quite right…even though I do my various blogs for different reasons.  This blog is the one I am most protective of when it comes to identity…which also raised the question for me…did I WANT to let her know I was the author of both blogs? It took some thinking about before I did it.

All of my other blogs are somehow tied together. This one stands alone. I like it that way. It may come back around to bite me. I hope not. I just want to help wherever I can and the study sounded intriguing.