I've been thinking about creating a disciplined online blog for some time. Blogs have actually been around long enough now that the internet seems to be overrun with them. I've asked myself: What should I write about? What style of writing shall I use? What should I not write about? What purpose would my blog serve? What would be my purpose in writing something and posting it to the internet for anyone (or no one) to see?
I haven't yet got a real sense of clarity in response to these questions. As with most things in life, I guess one discovers by doing. In any case, I do feel very compelled around personal journal-style blogging in a few key ways:
1) What a great place to store and accumulate a record of one's personal experience and evolution. All the little material notebooks tend to come and go, but a blog is like a single, well-organized, searchable virtual bookshelf!
2) I love to write, and what a great way to exercise my writing muscle in an easy, accessible, no-rules way. It just takes a little discipline to make it a routine practice.
3) I want to experiment with a "no holds barred" blog. There is something simultaneously eery about exposing oneself to the wide unknown, but also something that feels evocative and promising.
For me, a personal journal by blog feels like "putting it out to the Universe". I have been dabbling with blogging in the past year or so, and noticed myself holding back an awful lot. Mostly, I've held back writing about the things that expose my "whole" self. As in, it's easy to write the things that feel like the come across as wise, thoughtful, inspiring and eloquent, but what about the voices that exist in my "shadow" side? Why shouldn't that part of my life experience be explored as well? I've held back writing when I believe it could reveal my insecurities, immaturity, grievances, weaknesses, lack of judgement or experience, and confusion. In this way, I've become aware of some interesting fears ...and a whole host of self-judgements! For example, "I'm supposed to be a Life Coach. How can I write things that could jeopardize a prospective client's trust in my coaching ability? That can't possibly lead to a sustaining practice!"
But for now I have this sense that it is time. It is time to take a leap of faith and start writing whatever needs to be written. A personal challenge to expose my true nature, and see what it looks like and how that takes shape, in a complete way... for me. I feel the need to commit to the purpose of the blog being for me and me only, including the parts of me that I'd sometimes rather not acknowledge! And the intention is to learn and grow in this process of "putting it out there" and hopefully gain greater levels of personal awareness, effectiveness, and purpose. I guess that is my mission, and why the blog feels like the right mode of capture. Perhaps I needed to write this particular blog entry in order to make my excuses beforehand, or put my apology out there in advance.
