Christmas Break

  I took a break from blogging in December.  I needed some time and perspective on the blogging world.  I was starting to think too much about blogging my life instead of living it.  I think it is a rather peculiar thing really.  I seemed to be drifting outside my own life somehow.  I was observing instead of experiencing.  While I do think it is important to gain fresh perspective on life it shouldn't be a constant removal from the ebb and flow.  It was becoming a bit too analytical for me...after all it is my life not a corporation.  It can be hard to resist the temptation to make every project or meal a mini photo session.

I not only took a break from writing the blog but a break from reading blogs as well.  I felt like there was so much input I was having trouble hearing my own voice.   When I began reading my favorites again I was excited to read Autumn's take on all of this...and then Alicia's insight into the same topic.  Reading those posts reminded me how reassuring it can be to blog.  Same topic, different perspectives and insights.

I still wonder how to walk the blogging line as it is. How to balance a desire to share and connect with that of a naturally private person.  If you had asked me two years ago if I would be sharing photos of my life on the Internet I would have thought you were crazy and yet...here I am.  It is new for me.  I am sharing with new friends and strangers and I honestly don't know where the desire to do so has come from.  Part of it could be that I have always been a teacher in some form or another....and maybe this is just another incarnation of that.  But the thing I do know is that when my family and friends ask what I like about the blogging world the first thing which comes to mind is inspiration.  I have been so amazed and inspired by the wonderful, creative bloggers out there, sharing their lives, ideas, recipes, sources and hearts.  It would feel like stealing to take so much joy and inspiration from that  world without participating myself.  Even if that means stretching outside my comfort zone.  Who knows.  Maybe, for me, that is part of the answer why.

Comments

[autum]

Wonderful post. I was particularly struck by "I was starting to think too much about blogging my life instead of living it."
I know exactly how you feel. I've been on a short unintended break and it has felt good. I've tried to post a couple of times today but I guess my heart or mind just isn't in it.
Like you, I enjoy the inspiration and the sharing that blogging provides too much to give it up, but I'm still struggling with the balance that works for me.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

[Maggie]

I can completely relate. I am a very private person and each time I post a little of myself and my world (private versus professional) I feel a bit squeemish but I am trying to get over it.

[Linda Harre]

I feel the same way...............I too have been looking for that balance! My family kids me about it!!!! I do get so much out of it, but I have stopped talking on the phone and keeping up with my "real" friends:( Several of the blogs have written about devoting a certain amount of time and NO MORE! That is probably the route I will have to take! Maybe we can all figure it out in the NEW YEAR:-) I will check back and see what is working for you........

[Jill]

That was beautifully said. For many of us blogging is rather new, and it takes time to figure out how it best works for each person. We all started blogging around the same time; now we seem to be wondering about it's effects at the same time!

[Lisa Wilson]

What wonderful clarity on the "blogging" dilemma! As a newbie to blogging, I have become a bit obsessed with "keeping up". Up on my favorite blogs, up on creating inspiring entries, up on balancing it all with life! I realized that it was becoming pressure instead of that wonderful creative outlet it was supposed to be. I am trying to remember to breathe. Thanks for putting it in words.
Lisa & Alfie