Random thoughts on blogging

I am loving doing the Fellow Blogger series. It is a great way to connect with others from around the world however, I have found that I’m most interested in the reasons that people begin to blog.

Some have begun blogging as a way to ‘build their platform’ for their writing. Some do it to make money (can’t work out how that equates into profitable in the money sense at all) and some began writing for purely personal reasons. Many use blogging as a way to get the jumbled mess in their heads into some semblance of order and free up space for the other thoughts that are crammed into the recesses of their minds. I have been thinking about this a bit this morning after receiving an email from one of my virtual friends out there.

I follow blogs with a variety of themes. I laugh along with those sharing funny stories about their days. I read (but don’t always understand) about NFL games. I have literally had tears streaming down my face as I read about the loss of loved ones and the grief caused by their passing. I have had the hairs stand up on my arms reading about a man’s encounter with the Lord on New Year’s Eve. I enjoy seeing the world through the lens of the cameras wielded by those with more technical (and post processing) skills than I have. I have seen the joy on the face of a dying man as people from all over the world sent him Christmas cards. Each day I travel the word and peek in through windows to the homes of others whilst never leaving the comfort of my chair.

But what prompts people to put their thoughts out there for all to see? Is it for validation or are they seeking catharsis through their writing? Maybe they just wish another perspective on things. We could label blogging free therapy if we wish. For whilst we write what is in our hearts and heads we are indeed helping ourselves. And we are also reaching out to others and saying “Help me” or “I know someone else has been there before, reassure me”.

Many of us who comment on each others blogs have never met but feel as if we have been friends for a lifetime. We ‘get’ each other. We are a support network . We are always there – if not in person, certainly at the other end of a keyboard. Oh sure, there are time differences and the demands of our lives take us away from the computer but we come back. And unlike spoken words, our written words remain there to come back to again and again. The comments that made us smile when we first read them can make us smile all over again with a second reading.

So many of us share parts of ourselves to the world (I had originally typed universe but changed that as I’m not sure that other life forms may be that interested in us). When we trust those words to the page, we expect that they will be treated with decency and respect. Mostly they are. Apart from a few who feel that it is their inalienable right to denigrate others, most fellow bloggers are supportive and kind.

Another thought of mine? How many people have been truly helped by reading the comments of others on the thoughts that they have put out there? Has a young teen been contemplating suicide as a result of bullying and stopped because someone told them that life is beautiful and so are they? Has someone else been in the pits of despair and been lifted by the kind thoughts of another? I guess nobody will ever know unless they choose to share with us – the blogging community. Because that is what it is isn’t it? We are a community. A global community that is able to reach out through our keyboards and share of ourselves and support each other. And I am so proud to be a part of that community.

I am Sue and these are my random thoughts…