Sunday, July 8, 2007

honesty in writing

An excerpt from What Do I Do Monday? by John Holt.

The honest use of words, then, in talk or writing, is an act first of self-awareness, and then of self-expression. First we get hold of what we have inside; then we put it in such a way that someone else may share some of that feeling, experience, understanding. Which comes first? Do we need self-awareness in order to write, or do we write in order to gain self-awareness? Neither comes first; they grow together. We need some self-awareness in order to speak, to talk or write well, but through speaking we can become much more self-aware. We speak that we may know ourselves, and the better we know ourselves, the better we can speak.

A blog is a double-edged sword. It can be used as a medium for the honest exchange of thoughts and ideas. The annonymity provided by Blogger allows people to explore those aspects of themselves they may not be comfortable sharing with those closest to them. A chance to present an idea and see what others think of it. A chance to say to the world "Look, I'm an atheist" and learn that not only does the world not come crashing down upon you and that no lightning bolt has your name on it, but that there are other people out there who will stand up and say, "Me too! I'm an atheist as well."

Blogging can open a world of opportunities: to meet people with different ideas, to find those with compatable ideas, to have discussions, to engage in debate*, to be supportive, to be a friend. It is a chance to explore one's growing self-awareness through the expression of thoughts and ideas. Looking back in my archives of all the posts I've written I'm amazed at how many different topics have been covered, with each one causing me to rethink, analyze, or in some cases generate my own position on that topic.

Blogging- an opportunity to discover who you are, explore who you are, and develop who you want to be.


*debate- [informal] to deliberate, consider, to discuss opposing points
as opposed to
debate- [formal] a contest of argumentation in which two opposing teams defend and attack a given proposition.

10 comments:

Sean Wright said...

I feel the same Fiery. Not much to add here than I enjoy blogging for all the reasons you state.

Fiery said...

Which is probably why I enjoy reading your blog.

I should have mentioned this other aspect of blogging in my post, and that is the long term reading of a particular blog.

The longer you read a person's blog, the more you can learn about them as you watch their journey of self-discovery. See the events of their life unfold. Watch them grow and develop as a person.

Probably why I almost always roam the archives in my favorite blogs, reading their stories from the begining. I like seeing where people are coming from.

Poodles said...

I have blogged for a very long time. I have 2 blogs, my atheist blog and my personal blog. I love that I can look back and see my personal blog through the years. I can go back and look when I forget dates of events. I can see when my friend died, when I got my puppies and how life has changed through the years.

Fiery said...

My favorite story on your blog is how you messed with your building contractor.

There is just something to me about the way it played out that tickles my funny bone, and I can totally see his disbelief at the punchline.

:-)

Hey- if you haven't read Poodles' story about the wager.... get over to her blog and enjoy a good laugh!

Poodles said...

Thanks Fiery. HA it was pretty amusing. Now that the shed is done I thought about betting the cost of laying my new laminate that he could lift it again.

OneEar said...

Remember when we all used to dick off in private? Those were the days.

Fiery said...

Ooooohh that would be a good one! :-D If he lifts it, for crying out loud get it on video and post it on your blog, if not you-tube!!!!!!!!

That image of you turning and calling, "Honey! could you please come pick up the shed!" (not an exact quote) just cracks me up every time. And then you follow it up with him coming right over while putting his gloves on. HILLARIOUS!!!!

And if that spoiled it for anyone- shame shame for not popping over right away to see what the fuss was about.

Fiery said...

OneEar- lol

Not only do we dick off in public now, but people comment on our dicking off and criticize our technique. Sometimes we get cheerleaders that say "rah rah! You the man, dick off some more!"

And then you get others that say "You couldn't get your dick off to save your life".

:-D

Sean Wright said...

Excuse my cultural ignorance, but if you were to dick off in public in Australia you'd be locked up

:-/

Fiery said...

Depends on which dick you are offing.

:-)

Double entendre

I assume OneEar was talking about verbally spouting off not....committing an indecent act.

Hmmmm. Apparently the humor fell flat. Ah well, can't win 'em all.