- Am I sharing too much? What am I blogging for? What is the purpose of my blog? Is it for journaling? Entertainment? Mother/household tips? Who am I writing to. . .family, extended family, girlfriends, strangers? Who is my audience?
- Then there is the question of how much time should I spend looking,viewing, reading everyone else's blogs? It is easy to get lost in blogland. Sometimes a much needed and nice break from the cares of the world. I laugh, learn, relate and pick up great ideas for my home and family. But sometimes I feel that time passes too quickly, housework is delayed, blogs are read, & nothing much has been accomplished to help me or my family.
- How much of my religion do I include in my blog? I like to share my religious views; it is part of my life, it is my life. Are there people reading my blog not of my faith that would like to know more, or does it come off too strong?
- I'm not a good writer and my photography will never be cool looking. Sometimes my writing could be misunderstood, or not explained the right way.
- There will be good days & bad days in my life. How do I share that in the right way? I feel guilty when I share negative things. My recent posts have had that feel to it. I'm sorry. I want to do better and be more positive. I have a good life and much to be grateful for.
Elder Wirthlin at the last conference in October 2008 said many things concerning the balance of sad and happy times. I'm not experiencing sad or difficult times in my life now, but I'm still amazed at the challenges that come daily in raising and taking care of my children, our home, serving in the church, and being attentive to my husband. When you blog there is a part of you that wants to share it all with your readers, and I'm trying to find that right balance. Even the right balance of time and energy I spent blogging.
Again, here are Elder Wirthlin's thoughts when he was approaching the end of his life. He died about 2 months after sharing these thoughts. He was 91.
"Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don't sing and bells don't ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result. How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can't-at least not in the moment. I don't think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don't think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life."
4 comments:
I feel very similarly. It is easy (and therapeutic) to blog all the bad, but I try to keep the bad stuff limited. I view blogging as a fun family/public record of your life. Your kids will enjoy looking at it when they are older.
Katie - I love reading your blog. I LOVE the way you write! I tend to get to wordy and long winded. I can just hear your voice as I read! You are such a fun person to talk to (we don't do it enough!), so I love hearing about things from you and your perspective on life. I appreciate it when you blog about the things that may frustrate you or things you are struggling with because it makes me feel like I must be normal! We all tend to compare our worst to everyone elses best. Blogs have shown me that other admirable women are real too and have bad days too!
So thank you - for keeping it real!
I love your blog! I think about all that stuff all the time too. Nobody's life is perfect and it's good to see that other people feel like I do. I loved your posts about your daily life and can totally relate. I mostly write for myself. And hope my family now and kids in the future will enjoy.
I totally agree. I feel like one week I want to blog every day, and then the next week I am ready to delete my entire blog. Your blog is one of my favorites to read, so I hope you keep doing exactly what you're doing.
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