Blah, Blah, Blog.

With the New Year I wanted to start a fresh approach to writing, particularly to producing a regular blog.  But I yam what I yam, and so the very first thing I did was procrastinate for 2 weeks, a habit I’ve carried over into 2022 from the past 6 decades of my life.  “Measure twice, cut once,” as they say.  So here goes…

A lot of the way I participate in public life is through searching for a balance.  I freely admit I’m an egotistical artist (Look at Me, Look at ME!).  But I also care very much about other people’s feelings (maybe for selfish motives, because of my pathological desire to be liked and accepted).  Whatever the dark, ugly subconscious reasons, I constantly seek to strike a balance between my needs and the needs of others, between speaking and listening, between the onanistic pleasure of hearing my own voice, and open-minded curiosity about what others have learned on their life journeys.

Blogging challenges this balance for me.  Do I just write long-winded essays that I think are interesting?  Do I try to create a dialogue with others around some common interest (basically a chat room)?  Is a stream of consciousness diary useful or interesting for anyone?  Should the blog be more about my area of professional expertise (many think it is music, but really it is about living with Peter Pan Syndrome)?  Writing about my brilliant thoughts seems ultimately narcissistic, but writing about practical, technical issues seems impersonal and kind of dull, and I know I won’t be inspired to keep that kind of blog going consistently.

When I get lost in this mental whirlwind, I come back to a simple but deep insight:  When we do things we can inspire others to do things.  For me that is the best feeling; I get to express my ego in the world (“Look at me, mom!”), but not to be better than others or to use up all the oxygen in the room.  Rather I’m part of a chain reaction, inspired by others to act, and inspiring others through my actions.  I want to write a blog which does that.  Lofty goals!

Maybe that’s too grandiose a plan, but I think it’s a good starting point, especially in this surreal cyber world we have created, where everyone exists more online than in the physical world.  If everyone has an online presence, eventually everyone will have a blog.  If blogs compete for eyeballs (and by extension for revenue), jungle law ensues: Some blogs are hugely successful, others find smaller niches, and the rest wither and die.  Capitalism at its finest.  Or… we use the Internet as a tool to communicate, to learn, and to inspire.  

Then there is the fairytale scenario where your sincere, heartfelt and inspiring blog does what you had intended, resonates with others, and becomes unexpectedly popular.  You go viral.  You are wildly successful.  You generate revenue.  You branch out into books, syndicated columns, a line of cute inspirational coffee mugs and tote bags.  You become an apex celebrity blogger in the blogging jungle.  How ironic!  Well, you can worry about that moral quandary later.