Blogging

I feel a philosophical post coming on, so if you are looking for a lighthearted breezy post today, this isn't going to be one of them.

I wanted to say a few things about blogging and what it means to us.  There are many different reasons why we blog, but I think one of the main reason we do is to communicate, to have a sense of belonging to a community, to have a voice and for someone to listen.  I will be talking a bit about myself here so please tune out now if you wish.

I started blogging back in July last year, actually I stumbled into it and had no idea where it would take me or whether I had anything interesting to say and contribute.  I now find that is not the most important part of blogging for me.  The best part about blogging is getting to know other people and enjoy some of the experiences they have and their achievements.  For example Louise takes me on these most amazing walks (through her blog) and I'm discovering things about England I never knew.  Lucy and Jacquie have taught me how to crochet through their fantastic tutorials.  I'm learning just how strong women can be from Amy and  Donna even in the most difficult of circumstances.  You won't find what I'm referring to in just one post by these ladies, you would have to trawl their archives to get the full picture.  But WOW, they are amazing people, although they would be the last to say that.

So blogging fills a need for community in my life.  I find myself somewhat isolated socially because most of my girlfriends work outside the home and I do not.  But I have wonderful people from all over the world who are now a part of my community, those that I follow and those that follow me.   I'm so grateful for you and I'd like to say a big hello to my new followers here.  :)

I realise that this is a rambling kind of post but I'm getting to something else I've been thinking about the last few days and that's we cannot really understand someone unless we have walked in their shoes.  It's quite easy for us to be judgemental toward our fellow man/woman but I would like us to stop for a few moments and think how being judgemental can possibly be helpful to either the person who is being judged or to ourselves.  I'm not talking about our opinions here, we are all entitled to them, it's best they are kept to ourselves sometimes so as not to hurt others.

  I follow a number of blogs that are dedicated to having a beautifully decorated house in the shabby chic, all white style.  I like the look, enjoy seeing all the lovely arrangements they come up with on their mantels, their displays of objects from an era past, but I could never aspire to having a houses like theirs.  A little part of me would like too, so I live out those little dreams by viewing their blogs.  I have in the past viewed some blogs that always seem to be accumulating, acquiring and changing their decorations and asked myself, when will these people ever be happy with what they have?  Then I read a post by Wendy which gave me a totally different perspective on the need for some people decorate and then redecorate and it's called having a CREATIVE OUTLET.  Of all people, I should have understood that 'cos I'm in to all things creative.  I realised that I had been making judgements (silently) about people I had no business to be making judgements about.  It's a bit like me buying more yarn, or more card and papers, or another canvas and more oil paints so I can be creative.

There are some in blog land going through really tough times who see somebody elses ability (financially and time wise) to be creative, as a non essential part of life.  For them they are so hard at work keeping their heads above water emotionally, physically, mentally or financially, there is no room left for anything else.  What might be seen as a case of sour grapes, is the cry of a person who is so depleted of any time to just BE.  To have room for a little head space.  It is very easy for us to judge these people too when the best thing we can do is be empathetic, encouraging and supportive.

So I guess this post is about respecting and appreciating our differences, of realising things may not be what they seem from just reading a couple of blog posts and that we all have something unique to offer if only we'd scratch a little harder under the surface to find it. 

Have a lovely weekend every one and to those of you royal wedding watching, enjoy.

Anne  xx