What makes a person open their hearts, (feelings), minds (thoughts) and entire soul and lay them out to be examined and dissected to anyone who happens upon it? Why would anyone pour out their whole being onto a page in a rush of words that gushes like a waterfall cascading unimpeded down a chasm, sometimes making perfect sense and at other times not at all?
Is it the desire to have our say about something? Do we feel the need to explain ourselves and what we do and why we do it? Or are we just naturally anxious to participate in what is going on in the world (ours and the one at large) at the moment and this is our forum?
All this marvelous technology (which I believe has been a blessing given to us in order to more easily do our family history!) has presented opportunities we've never before had to make our voices heard, to get our opinions out there. We "little people" can now speak and be heard.
But do we stop and think about what we have to say before saying it? Do we realize the consequences of hitting that send button before we do it? I'm loving the opportunities that give us a voice, but I worry about the things that are flooding the airwaves because some don't think about the consequences of what they are sending or saying.
Political careers, jobs, families, personal friends - all can be tragically affected by a careless or thoughtless click of the send button. Who would have ever thought it would be so easy to destroy another person? Two minutes at the keyboard, send, and instantly the world can know things that were better left untold.
On the other hand, what an incredible tool for sharing good news, for teaching, for learning, for discovering new worlds and new friends. What an opportunity to open our minds to new thoughts and expand our knowledge on infinite subjects. What a marvelous way to bridge the communication gap and speak to people we would have never known in any other way.
I would never known about Clarence, the angel cat, or how often Kerry's Blessings book has helped people, or how to get someone to answer a door late at night, or the marked differences between the English and the Americans, or how a loving grandmother has influenced a life, and all the other fascinating things that I've learned just in the last week. So keep on blogging and sharing your lives to enrich mine!
It's like sitting down and having a conversation in my living room with a friend, or inviting a new friend into my home and becoming acquainted. Doors are opening faster than I can get to them all and I'm loving it! New babies, death in the family, frustrations of teenagers, triumphs and tragedies, sneezes and sniffles and debilitating illness - all can be shared in an instant. What an incredible tool we have been given!
To blog or not to blog? No longer a question! Of course we must! Thank you for inviting me into your world!
2 comments:
Good points, all, Lynn. I've often thought about how scathing people can be because the annonymity of the internet dehumanizes the person being "attacked."
At the same time, though, you're right--what an amazing thing! I've loved being able to connect with people this way. As a writer, I've loved being able to communicate with readers in such a conversational way. What I wouldn't have given as a kid to be able to email my favorite authors!
Excellent blog, Lynn. And I agree with Nancy. How cool would it have been to have e-mailed people like Agatha Christie, Mark Twain, etc.
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