Why I Haven't Been Blogging (As If You Care)

Dear Reader (that is singular on purpose):

This was supposed to be my 100th post. Apparently, Blogger counts drafts so this is only number 99. I think Facebook has killed my desire to blog. It's so easy to "micro-blog" in a stream-of-consciousness way that actually sitting down to write out more than 140 characters seems so daunting. I am going to make a commitment to blog every day for the rest of this month. We'll see how it goes. I need the discipline of writing to remember that I am a writer. Hold me to this. Comment on this post if I post no more. Hey, comment anyway. I like hearing from you.


While we're on the subject of Facebook, let me just say that I have a love-hate relationship with it. I'm sure you do too. While it can be great to re-connect with old friends from the past, I have found that most people (myself included) do not put our "real selves" out there on FB. Those who do usually get hidden from peoples' news feeds. There is a natural tendency towards comparing ourselves with others. When others' lives are thrust in our faces on a 24/7 basis, there is much fodder for comparison. That said, I don't see how our lives are any better because of FB. It is a monumental time waster and comparing our non-FB lives (the inward lives we don't share on FB) with the FB lives of others (the outward lives that others share) is extremely dangerous to our sense of contentment and well-being. If one of your FB friends looks to be living a better life than you are, they're probably only giving you half of the story. Be careful not to judge your real life by the standard of someone else's FB life.

Also, Facebook is not a substitute for real relationship. I have friends that I sort of keep up with on FB. There is nothing like sitting down with a friend over coffee or dinner and just sharing from the heart. It's a very spiritual thing that FB will never be able to emulate.

Real relationships--it's what we were made for.