A New Approach To Blogging
I always thought blogging had to be telling people what I was thinking or what I was feeling. I made it a vehicle for unloading my emotional baggage. It can be an outlet for that, but doing so made the whole thing feel like a bit of a drag.
Before blogging, I used to write on Substack and Medium. Much of that work was centred around writing articles. I think they helped many people, but it was a lot of telling people what to do. That never felt fully right to me.
I gave up all my writing and deleted my accounts, and started several blogs in the past year. I deleted all of them too. It was another reflection of the all-or-nothing side of my personality. I turned my attention to making music again for a while, then I sold most of my music equipment in a bid to live a simpler cluttered life-free life.
Deleting the last of my social media accounts has been another part of my bid move away from screens and put more energy into getting out into the world. Yoga classes, meditation groups, art communities and everything in between.
However, I have missed the reflective element of writing. After having a little more time to figure out my priorities, I want a place where I can document what I’ve been doing.
What I do know is that blogging doesn’t have to be sharing your deepest feelings and emotions, but you can do that sometimes if you feel the need. You can also share your experiences without telling other people what they should or shouldn’t take from them. They can decide that for themselves.
This post is a reminder to myself that blogging can simply be a way of sharing what I’ve been doing in a simpler way. I’d also like to use it as a way of sharing what I’ve learned through study and meditation. It’s a chance to refine my understanding in the public domain.
Many of my old posts required a lot of resources, so I told myself. But I want to keep this approach as lightweight as possible. I don’t need journal reflections to write blog posts. I don’t need a book next to me to write an article.
Writing from memory is far more effortful, but that’s what consolidates experiences and ideas deeper. Less highlighting, note-taking, and narration. More getting out and sharing experiences, free from unnecessary interpretation.
That’s the intention anyway, let’s see how it works out.