blogging as a way of life
Am I the only blogger who thinks about the extra time they would get if they stopped blogging? In a few months it will be a decade since I went beyond my comfort zone and ventured into the blogosphere, not really sure what I was doing and what it would lead to.
Now, 9 and a half years later, it's more than a project. Being a blogger is one of multiple identities, and one that gives enormous satisfaction. I enjoy expressing my thoughts in writing. I enjoy having a reason to take photos.
If I stopped blogging what would I do with all my ideas and notes for future blog posts? In 2012 I wrote a post called 6 posts I probably won't write. I never did write them.
In my drafts folder currently there is stuff on our relationship with insects, the importance of tree hollows and photos I took at an interesting art installation about 6 months ago. When I was in Myanmar recently I took lots of tree photos and thought of writing a post about the cultural meaning of trees there. Will I write these posts? Only in time will I know the answer to this question.
I enjoy interacting with my cyber friends. I never cease to wonder about this. We have never met, and are unlikely ever to meet in person, yet you are all very important, and I feel we do get to know each other over time.
If I stopped blogging I would miss friends and fellow bloggers like Linda, David, Peter, Kris, EC, RD, Nadezda, Pauline, Beth, Jason, Denise, Cheryl, Alastair, Janneke, Tatyana, Sue, Andrea, Chris, Diana and others appreciated but not named here.
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| Cold wintry day in Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens. Photo by Julia Grieve. |
So I won't stop blogging.
But I will have a break for a while.
See you ...
So glad you won't stop blogging Sue. I would miss you. Have a nice break.
ReplyDeleteI too very much enjoy blogging and have in fact met and stayed with fellow bloggers in two other countries and will be meeting up with another one in Australia next month. Blogging has been a very rewarding experience for me, for all the reasons you mention. You are obviously far more organized, and systematic than I am. I have no idea what my next post will be about until I do it, and I certainly don’t have files of topics waiting to be fleshed out and published. I admire your thoroughness! Have a good, relaxing break and come back to us refreshed and ready to provide us all with your truly interesting, well written pieces. I hope you can feel the warmth of the Canadian hug I am sending you.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone that has blogged for many years have times they just need to retreat and rejuvenate our creative juices. I bet you will soon feel the need to reach out to those you have mentioned and people like me that have just discovered your blog will look forward to reading and getting to know you. Cheers...
ReplyDeleteDon't stop!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd while you're pondering on the cultural significance of trees, have
(another) look at my article on trees in Jewish folksongs:
www.jewishfolksongs.com/en/tree-of-life
Blogging friends who we may or may not meet in person are my favorite part of blogging. I've even met some wonderful gardeners who don't blog themselves but have become friends by commenting on other blogs. I'm glad you've made the decision not to quit blogging but to take a break for a while. I often consider taking a break or at least not blogging every day because doing so would certainly free up a lot of time. I hope you enjoy your time away from the blogosphere and look forward to your return. I'll miss your posts!
ReplyDeleteThat was a startling ending!
ReplyDeleteI am influenced all the time by my blog and its readers. I take masses of photographs from a blogger's point of view, whether I post the pictures or not. And even when I'm not taking photographs I sort of chat with readers in my mind as I go.
I always love reading your posts, and I see that 10 years in blogging - it's very long time. I'm blogger for 8 years now and I organize the future posts as you do. So relax and come back to us!
ReplyDeleteIt's fun, yes indeed, but even the best things need to be put aside for a while. Enjoy your rest.
ReplyDeleteI understand the need for periodic rests from blogging and, yes, I've also considered stopping it entirely, but for reasons similar to those you describe I can't imagine that would make me happy. Actually, 2 weeks ago, I stuck my toe in with Instagram but, at least at this point, I find it less engaging and rewarding than blogging. The connections with other gardeners is present in both forums but I get a deeper look into viewpoints and personalities via blogs and my own blog creates a much better record for reference purposes. Enjoy your blogging break - and I'll look forward to your return.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your break. We all need them from time to time.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are sooooo right about the friends (good friends) who we may never meet. The warmth and the wonder of the blogosphere blows me away.
I've just found your blog via Lucy's blog 'Loose and Leafy ... ' . I've been blogging for 9 years now and often wonder what I'd do with all the photos and thoughts in my head if I didn't blog. I've bookmarked your site and look forward to your return after your break - and possibly even reading some of those draft posts. (At one point I had more drafts than posted, shocking! Haha!)
ReplyDeleteYes! To everything you said here. My experience is so similar to yours. I would have so much more time, but so much less meaning in my life. I always feel like I have constant blog content ideas right outside my window during the spring, summer, and fall--but too little time. Enjoy your break! I'll look forward to your return! :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your break and I look forward to your return!
ReplyDeleteOh my yes. I have stopped blogging many times, only to find I miss my friends.
ReplyDeleteI miss my photography (I only take photographs for my blog)
I could go on.
I have met special blogging friends.
In fact, my husband and I flew to America and met four of them.
It was an amazing experience and one I treasure.
I am still friends with them, and one of them is my soul mate.
We will be friends for life :)
Oh, I would miss you if you were to stop blogging. I started my blog in January of 2006, I really didn't have a clue what I was doing. I posted every day for the first year, thought the title was where the date went. I completely updated my blog in 2011 and gained a new style after connecting with other bloggers on a site named Blotanical. Looking forward to your return. Alistair
ReplyDeleteHi Alistair, i haven't visited your post for a while since you are followed in my older blog, but i am not posting there as often as my later blog. My new one Pure Oxygen Generators is where i blog about my garden, the other is relegated for anything outside my own. You are ahead of me in blogging as i started Mar 2008, now i will go to yours.
DeleteThe photos, and the random quotes seethe at the back of my mind. Till one day I find the end of the thread and unravel a post. I have drifted into fortnightly posts, which let me live a little in between.
ReplyDeleteLife must be very different if you don't blog. We'll never know ;~)
Yes Catmint, i surely agree with all that you said above. What will i do with all my photos, my travels, my thoughts, my garden, my insects and butterflies! And yes again, i treasure those names i only see in blogs and i expect and excited to see their comments. We are already entertwining energies in the ether! If i stop i will miss them. Those who don't write anymore i even ask some who i know are closer to them, and i pray when someone leaves our world earlier. We already have bonds. Am i the Andrea you wrote in there above? By the way, i am older than you by half a year as i started in March 2008. And where are you going, why are you stopping NOW?
ReplyDeleteNew here, found you by way of Cheryl. I have been blogging since 2007, have stopped several times, yet something continues to pull me back. The friends. Honestly. People I've never met, but continue to interact with. I've learned so much about situations, about gardening, about photography.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings me to another thing. I used to take lots of pics. I don't any more. I wonder if it's because I rarely post on my blog? You've given me food for thought. Perhaps it's time to go back to blogging on a regular basis. It is time consuming, but IMHO far more rewarding than FB. I barely glance at FB these days - if only to check up on my grandchildren. LOL.
While I'll miss you while you take a break, I look forward to your return.
ReplyDeleteRefresh, recharge, revive. Best wishes from sunny qld
Ten years blogging for me, too, so I know how you feel. But I know that just reading and commenting on others’ blogs won’t be enough to satisfy me. But I’ve taken breaks and they are always worth it.
ReplyDeleteI can identify with everything you say. I've been at it for 6 and a half years. Enjoy your break!
ReplyDeleteDear cyber friends, Thank you so much for your warmth and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post! I'm at the 6.5 year mark myself and you are right, it becomes a way of life. Looking for useful subjects to write about, figuring out how to get photos. It's always at the back of my mind. Kind of like a journalist, I guess -- paying attention to what goes on around you and how you might write about it. I did get to meet one of the earliest subscribers to my blog because she lived only 2 hours away. We have visited a number of times.
ReplyDeleteHello, passing by to see your news.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
janicce.
I take breaks all the time, especially over the course of the last 18 months. It's a good way to keep yourself fresh and excited about blogging. See ya when you get back!
ReplyDeleteMoving on to give a hello.
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled on this blog and this post, but it's so appropriate as I've been a blogging for about 4 years now and am still constantly asking myself whether the entire endeavor is worth it. My reasons are similar to many of those listed above-- that it helps me remember things and is a place to work through different ideas (although I struggle with engaging on social media and making "internet friends"). It's great to hear that others feel the same way. Enjoy your break, and happy blogging when you return!
ReplyDeleteDear friends, I haven't answered each comment personally as I usually do, but I appreciate your comments and are thinking about them, and will try to answer them in my next post, which may be the last post ... or not ...
ReplyDelete