It's been a little while since I've posted on this blog. Not that I think any readers are sitting at their computer screens waiting anxiously for an update on Glo-burban Life. But I still feel some sense of guilt that I should be writing, at least once or twice or week, to be a "good" blogger. Much of it is for myself. Call it therapeutic. Call it cathartic. I find the writing process an amazing way to sort out my feelings and ideas. What begins as a muddled puddle in my mind emerges clearer with each written sentence. Once the process is finished, I read it over and feel as if I have dipped my feet into a cool stream on a warm day.
And yet finding the time, or making the time, is a challenge for me. Oh, I have lots of ideas and topics floating around in my head. I want to write. But when quiet, uninterrupted time finally lands in my lap, it is usually after the kids are tucked safely in bed and my mind feels too tired for the writing process. Instead, I pick up a book or fold a load of laundry in front of the TV.
Am I complaining? How dare I if I am. The fact that I have time to choose to write or read or walk or call a friend is a luxury within itself. The fact that I can read and write is a privilege many in our world cannot afford, literally. The fact that I own a journal and a computer to write for therapeutic purposes is again a luxury. I was never told who I must marry or when. I have never awaken with the only purpose for the day being to fetch water and fill hungry bellies. I never looked at the outside of a school's walls and thought "if only I was a boy" or "if only my parents had money." Lest I ever forget it, the fact that I have choices, a.k.a. opportunity, is enough to sing with a free soul each morning.
So I will try to push the feelings of blogger failure and "poor me" aside and instead be grateful for the times I do have on here, for the choices I have on how to spend my time. I do have a lot I want to write/process in the future, so stay-tuned, any interested readers.
Annette, I hear you. Writing is an incredibly helpful way for me to process and reflect on what is happening in and around me. But I struggle with doing it b/c I'm so darn bad at stopping long enough to reflect...I've been reading a book on Spiritual Formation and one of the things the author looks at is what he calls 'creation gifts' or what most of us would call personality types. He uses the Myers Briggs assessment. Anyway, he talks about the need for holistic spiritual formation, and that most of us simply nurture our strengths, but ignore out weaknesses. One of the needs for my personality type (but something I will naturally struggle with) is reflection. As a result, something like a blog can serve a real formative purpose in allowing me to reflect. Anyway, your post made me think of that. Maybe I'll pick up blogging sometime. ;-) Thanks Annette!
ReplyDeleteTim, thanks for posting your comment here! I love conversation. Perhaps you would find a friend in blogging as I am. I also keep a personal journal which I run to usually in my highs and lows in life. It is filled mostly with prayers. The gift of writing, as you noted, is that you are "forced" to find the best words to describe what is going on within... in a word, reflect.
ReplyDeleteSo what book are you reading, may I ask? And if you ever pick up blogging, be sure to let me know!
I just recently came upon your blog when I read about your DVBS experience. It has made me curious about your other entries - like this one.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly have a gift of writing and I enjoy reading what you have to say.
Thanks! I'm enjoying the conversations you invite!
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