i blog, therefore i am

i love research. especially primary research involving contact with other people ... i suppose because we humans are such fascinating, many-faceted creatures, and i'm very much a herd animal (small herds). and in researching a subject, we LEARN about it.

i learned a lot from the answers offered to the question, 'why blog?'

i'm also slow to warm to technology. if the technological progress of the world were up to me, we'd all still be cooking on wood-fired stoves, (whid i did for many years) or over a campfire (which i've also done a goodly share of). i'm not AGAINST innovation... i can, and do warm to things that prove themselves useful and worth making the adjustment for, but they must prove themselves first.

on the other hand, i spend much of my workday at a computer, employed by a company that keeps on the leading edge of technology in its industry. And i enjoy it... it's that love of learning.

so i guess it's only natural that i approach this whole blog thing with much curiosity and a sprinkling of skeptical caution.

WHAT I LEARNED

a blog site is a very personal, very private place where we don't have to please anyone or follow anyone's rules but our own. a blog is a 'ME' thing. something we do just for us. no one knows what we need better than ourselves. our needs are many and varied. it seems that no one person, or even one family, or possibly even one community can meet all our needs. it's a healthy thing when we realize that, and realize also that it's not anyone else's job to see that our needs are met. our own wellbeing is our own responsibility.

a little selfishness is a good thing

though my exposure to the blogger population hasn't been huge, i haven't come across a single person who appears to take this to the extreme. all so far seem to have pretty rounded lives outside of cyberspace. sites are filled with delightful photos of friends and family, breathtaking scenery, art and craftsmanship, exchanged recipes, encouragement, exchange of ideas and advice.

a common thread is a feeling of uniqueness. that we're not quite the same as those around us... even those close to us. that, though we may well be where we are, with whomever we're with, for good reasons, and in good situations, there are still needs unmet. so we look to enlarge our cirlcle of acquaintance, and of experience, to include those things that our nearest and dearest have no interest in. and hopefully, they do the same.

ideally, our lives are like trees. our roots are firmly where they are, but we're reaching out, growing larger and stronger, and encompasing more all the time. this electronic link to another part of our world is one branch of a life that, if we're healthy and strong, provides shelter, nurture sustenance and stability to those who live in it with us.

BUT... the skeptic says...

this is all very pleasant in a comfortable, intellectual way. i sit at my computer, still in my jammies and big wooly socks. it's half past 12 on New Year's Day afternoon, and i'm leisurely sipping on steaming mugs of my favorite tea, waxing philosophical. no one is going to conradict me or interrupt me as i peck away at my keyboard. if my opinions cause someone to roll their eyes in derision, i won't see it. if someone scans what i've 'penned' and snorts, "boring", the words never reach me. for the most part, only those of like mind, who enjoy this sort of cereberal ping-pong will respond...

there are no blogger neighbor's dogs dumping steaming piles of previously enjoyed Ken-L-Ration on my lawn. no dying elderly neighbor who needs the garbage taken out, or his feet washed or toenails clipped. i don't have to deal with anything unpleasant on any but a superficial level.

so is this just another earmark of our consumerism? are we just shopping for disposable friends?

grannyfiddler