Monday, November 17, 2008

The Joy of Blogging

Leaves in Vienna, Oct. 2008
So I bet you've been wondering where I have been right? Hahaa... I know the truth is I can disappear for weeks, maybe months at a time and you wouldn't even notice!! I could hide myself in the piles of leaves I found last week in Vienna and would you even think to look for me? Like the proverbial needle in a haystack, I would be difficult to find. Or perhaps not. The real truth is that some of you would miss me- I know it!

There's something totally wonderful about the blogging community. Once you've established a presence on the web through a blog your readers become your friends. Not friends in the traditional sense of the world, but in a completely new and lovely way. We open ourselves to each other. Yes we make ourselves vulnerable. And to me that is so utterly awesome! When you (yes you) don't blog for sometime, I wonder about you. I think about you. I worry about you. Are you alright? Has something happened to you? Did your computer break down?

Don't let anyone tell you we aren't 'real' friends. We make connections here. We share what is common between us, and we are also free to share our differences. Some of us share our observations, especially those of us known as 'expats'. The worlds we now live in are sometimes so completely different from our places of origin that we experience our lives at an entirely new level of intensity.

There's a paradox here.

My world feels smaller because of you -- and my world feels larger because of you.

Isn't that magical? I think so.

My blog, and my blogging friends bring me joy.

And so I thank you for being there -- and for being here when you can.

11 comments:

MsTypo said...

I know exactly how you feel!! **hugs**

swenglishexpat said...

I share your sentiment. Sometimes one wonders if one has fallen out of favour with somebody (!) and other times one feels guilty for posting too seldom. I enjoy your blog!

Kerstin said...

This is very well said! Especially at a time when I wasn't sure where to go with my blog reading this helped.

I used to travel to Vienna a lot and loved it. It is so nice to re-live some of my favorite parts of Europe through you :)

Simple Answer said...

"my world feels smaller...." Beautifully put!

eni said...

thanks for this lovely post dear Kim.i appreciate your friendship:)

Rositta said...

The world is smaller because of blogging friends, and that's a cool thing...ciao

Anonymous said...

This is such a timely post for me, Kim. One of my bloggy friends who used to blog daily suddenly went all silent last week. I dropped her an email to find out if everything was alright (yes, it was fortunately).

I have met some very interesting people and made some good friends through blogging. Though I don't blog nearly as much as I want, I can't really imagine not blogging anymore! It really has enriched my life and I am grateful for that.

Diane Mandy said...

Beautiful post! I so agree!

Ginnie Hart said...

I couldn't have said it better, Kim. I have often told Donica that THIS is what it feels like. You have to "be there" to know it. Thanks for the confirmation.

Laura'sblog said...

Dear Kim

Well said!

Friendship has many forms and is expressed in many ways. The important thing is that we all value those we feel "friends with"... I am enriched and blessed that your blog is always so interesting and I consider you a special friend. I wish I took the time to blog more .... I feel encouraged by your sharing.

CanadianSwiss said...

Very well put, Kim. I totally agree :) I'm finally finding some time to pick-up on so many unread posts.