self-conscious
having never blogged before, and attempting to acclimate myself to this new [for me] medium of communcation the biggest surprise has been how self-conscious i feel. there is something very revealing about a blog, or at least it seems to me there should be. and yet, i feel a little bit like that well-known dream, about to give a speech in my underwear.
i am curious how other, more seasoned, bloggers overcame this trepidation. how can i expect to adapt to the notion that a part of me is to be broadcast to the world? [i hesitate posting pix of myself or my daughter, for i know the power of photoshop]. and yet, what good is this blog if it is not the real me?
for some reason, the picture of king david, practically undressed, leading a parade to jerusalem, comes readily to mind. risky.
i believe transparency, honesty, is a key element of faith; i believe it is to be a hallmark of our relationships with God and others. but you, i am not sure we have a? relationship, or do we? for me blogging [and mySpace "friends" for that matter] raises some complex issues with repsect to the nature of relationships and community and, ultimately, my ability to be transparent in this forum. 3.
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What I have tried to do in the past (even though my blog has long since died off as I devote my time to other endeavors) is to not think about the site as being read by the world. Just tell your stories like you would tell your friend or you family. Because at the end of the day that’s who your talking to, you’re brothers and sisters in Christ.
Wow, there’s nothing more frustrating than writing a few paragraphs and then losing it in cyberspace because it wouldn’t submit for some reason. I had some thoughts for you Trey; I’ll have to try to gather them tomorrow.
I imagine myself giving a speech in my underwear, and then I think, “wow this blogging thing isn’t all that bad!”
Actually, I think the thing that helped me get started blogging was that the whole pheomenon originated for me among a community of friends who were very eclectic. A few of us have stuck with blogging, and it has become a bit of a spiritual discipline, way of ministering to others, and an opportunity to reflect in the middle of the fast paced life most of us live.
Hey Trey. Well, I can’t quite remember the fullness of what I wanted to say, but I think I wanted to raise the question: Why do we blog at all? What’s the purpose? Because we seem to want to do it to share personal reflections and thoughts, and yet, as you say, it’s public; anyone can see it.
I was originally intrigued by the coolness of just having my own little website. A little place that probably only a few people will ever see, really, but it can be a reflection of me, my personality, my stamp in this world. As a musician/songwriter, this desire to have some ‘product’ that is mine is probably related to the desire to record something of value and let it go out forever into the universe. Kind of epic, I know. But I think most of us have this want or need to create something that can touch another’s life in some way.
Now I am realizing that blogging is also aiding myself in developing literary skills. The discipline of doing it regularly and knowing that anyone might see it makes you ’step up your game’ a bit and learn how to take these ideas and make them into something people can grab hold of.
Anyway, those are my thoughts, jumbled as they are!
thanks for the comments. i think i just have to get over the awkwardness of it. i suppose some people are more private than others, but i do think there is something to the idea of wanting to be known, by others especially.
so a blog is a double-edged sword: a place to be known and a place to be KNOWN. and of course it only cuts so deep as we will let it.
isn’t it said that man’s greatest fear and greatest need…is to be known….