The Importance of Blogging
12/28/05:
The importance of journalizing, rather. Every time we are in trouble, or we forget lessons learnt, we can go back to the good stuff and revitalise ourselves. It helps regain perspective, it helps in remembering what matters.
Even as a child, pre-teen teen and an adult, I had not thought much of having a diary. Even though some of my friends and classmates did it religiously, teachers suggested that it was a good thing to do, I scoffed at the idea. When I turned 29, R, amidst teasing me about turning 30 and old, suggested that start a blog chronicling my life till I reached the ripe old milestone age of 30. (I recall we had this conversation on my birthday or on a day that was close to my 29th birthday). I brushed the idea aside saying I am not the blogging/recording kind. Besides, up until now I had an active distaste for and flouted the mundane happenings of life. Because they were unexceptional, they were not noteworthy.
Perhaps there is truth and justification in my stance considering how unremarkable my life has been(well, from a different vantage point, it could be argued otherwise). Not just mine. Everyone's everyday life is somewhat routine and ordinary. I never saw the merit in recording "I had this for lunch today. I went to the bathroom more than once yesterday". Or maybe it was my painful sense of modesty which impelled me to undervalue my life and my learnings and my observations. Or maybe it was my excessive high standards which did not put sufficient premium on my life and learnings. I don't know. One way or the other, I was not huge on personal diaries and chronicling day-to-day events.
May be it was my habit of living more in my head than in reality that precluded me from having a vantage point on life. Sometimes it was just sheer laziness though. More than once, I have bemoaned the fact that I had not written down original ideas and worked on them only to find a couple of years later that someone has come out with something very similar and is famous for their work. One of my friends is a big believer in blogging and says I should blog too. For this reason alone, if nothing else.
But now, I realise how valuable a diary can be. It is a security blanket. It is a trusted confidant. It is a wise friend. In times of trouble, it reminds us of the positive and puts us back on the rails. I had asked on this site for tips on sustaining the flashes of happiness and wisdom we sometimes receive- http://dirtsimple.org/2005/11/refactored-self-part-1.html. I have discovered that recording the event, the triggers, the stimulants and the reactions is a good way to regain it when we feel it is lost. Making a habit of it can provide sustenance and consistency and not just help recover what is lost. Life is lived in the quotidian as well as the portentous moments. Wisdom is as much gained through phenomenal experiences as it is through the banausic. I am a convert.
The importance of journalizing, rather. Every time we are in trouble, or we forget lessons learnt, we can go back to the good stuff and revitalise ourselves. It helps regain perspective, it helps in remembering what matters.
Even as a child, pre-teen teen and an adult, I had not thought much of having a diary. Even though some of my friends and classmates did it religiously, teachers suggested that it was a good thing to do, I scoffed at the idea. When I turned 29, R, amidst teasing me about turning 30 and old, suggested that start a blog chronicling my life till I reached the ripe old milestone age of 30. (I recall we had this conversation on my birthday or on a day that was close to my 29th birthday). I brushed the idea aside saying I am not the blogging/recording kind. Besides, up until now I had an active distaste for and flouted the mundane happenings of life. Because they were unexceptional, they were not noteworthy.
Perhaps there is truth and justification in my stance considering how unremarkable my life has been(well, from a different vantage point, it could be argued otherwise). Not just mine. Everyone's everyday life is somewhat routine and ordinary. I never saw the merit in recording "I had this for lunch today. I went to the bathroom more than once yesterday". Or maybe it was my painful sense of modesty which impelled me to undervalue my life and my learnings and my observations. Or maybe it was my excessive high standards which did not put sufficient premium on my life and learnings. I don't know. One way or the other, I was not huge on personal diaries and chronicling day-to-day events.
May be it was my habit of living more in my head than in reality that precluded me from having a vantage point on life. Sometimes it was just sheer laziness though. More than once, I have bemoaned the fact that I had not written down original ideas and worked on them only to find a couple of years later that someone has come out with something very similar and is famous for their work. One of my friends is a big believer in blogging and says I should blog too. For this reason alone, if nothing else.
But now, I realise how valuable a diary can be. It is a security blanket. It is a trusted confidant. It is a wise friend. In times of trouble, it reminds us of the positive and puts us back on the rails. I had asked on this site for tips on sustaining the flashes of happiness and wisdom we sometimes receive- http://dirtsimple.org/2005/11/refactored-self-part-1.html. I have discovered that recording the event, the triggers, the stimulants and the reactions is a good way to regain it when we feel it is lost. Making a habit of it can provide sustenance and consistency and not just help recover what is lost. Life is lived in the quotidian as well as the portentous moments. Wisdom is as much gained through phenomenal experiences as it is through the banausic. I am a convert.
Labels: From the Archives
posted by Chetana at 12:56 PM
1 Comments:
Great writing. Couldnt have done it better.
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