To blog or not to blog

 blog, therefore I am...


Sorry Descartes and Shakespeare for misquoting you.

My husband (H1) blogs. http://lovinglifeineurope.blogspot.fr/

My housemate (H2) blogs. http://viewsfromeverywhere.blogspot.ch/

I read lots of blogs of friends and some strangers who might be friends if we should meet. There are blogs I read from people I've never met like those on the Facebook page Blogging for Blogging's sake.

www.madamegilflurt.com feeds my love of history each day for example and http://thefranco-americanflophouse.blogspot.fr/ keeps me updated on FATCA as well as another person who lives cross culturally.

Other blogs I read are of friends like this friend and talented writer whom I will do a workshop with next weekend. www.katiehayoz.com

H1, H2 and I were talking about the limitations of blogs. There are things too personal to blog.

There are experiences we might want to share, but can't because we don't want to hurt people's feelings. I will often ask permission before I blog a subject that might make a friend uncomfortable.

There is no Emily Post of blogging politeness. Maybe there should be.

Polite does not mean saccharine.

We might not want to mention we are away in case a thief happens on our blogs and thinks "aha an empty house."

If most of my blogs are cheerful it is because my life about 98% of the time is wonderful and 2% has the normal problems everyone has. Years ago when my life wasn't good and I was seeing a shrink, he talked about acting not reacting. I can't control the bad things in life. I can control what I do about them. His advice has done me good for a half a century.
Sometimes I might blog something painful to me. It's cheaper than a shrink. My giving up my nationality was one of those times. Losing my stepmom was another.

I'm also aware most of my problems are things like a computer working too slowly. Even illness like the cancer is a time to make new friends and have interesting experiences, although I never would have chosen it and still consider myself lucky at the outcome. No one is bombing me, beating me up, etc. Often I can turn these mini-annoyances into a blog that hopefully is amusing.

I have enough or too much to eat. I can take a shower, which is more than many people in Detroit were able to do. 

I might blog about a meal. I wouldn't blog about my shower no matter how much I love it.

I have enough...I am blessed. I blog blessings.

The same with photos. We don't want to embarrass anyone I know or don't know so either I ask permission to use a photo on a blog, or sigh, put the photo in my personal file.

As for strangers, I try not to use any photos of people that are identifiable without permission.

On the other hand when I'm with either H1 or H2 (numbers were assigned arbitrarily) we are all quick to say, "You're going to blog that?" We've been known to blog on the same subject coming up with different perspectives. 

Blogging often stimulates my other writing, a bit like priming a pump.

I blog, therefore I am.