So, were you a little weirded out by that last post? Yeah...me too. Let me explain.
Some contend that blogging, by its very nature, is entirely self-revealing. While I acknowledge that it is partially revelatory, the fact is, the blogger has complete control over what is revealed and much of his/her life remains completely private and obscure.
I, for one, primarily write about the intellectual antics taking place in my brain and don't engage in deep, personal revelation, right? Please say yes. For example, have I ever shared my New Year's Resolutions with you? Nevermind that I haven't made any for the previous 10-20 years. Why don't I make New Year's Resolutions? Well...not only am I unable to create a list that isn't entirely overwhelming, it seems a bit artificial to make promises to myself. I mean, c'mon...if I really want to do a thing, I will. And if I don't, I won't. Calling it a resolution doesn't make me any more determined to do it. Besides, if I break a comittment to myself, who really cares? And who even knows? If neither pride nor shame are motivating factors...what's the point?
Even if I did make NYR, I doubt I'd share them, you know. Afterall, do I really want to broadcast everything I'd like to "fix" about myself? Not so much.
Here's the dilemma: if I make resolutions and don't share them, they are meaningless promises to myself. If I do share them, I open myself up for:
1) revealing more than I care for you to know about my personal life
2) revealing more than you care to know about my personal life
3) showing how utterly lame my expectations for myself are
4) public success - which is self-promoting and self-congratulatory
5) public failure - which is actually not so bad, 'cause it makes other people feel good about themselves
Alright...so prepare to feel good about yourselves.
This year, I decided to make resolutions...but only 3 of them, mind you. The first is for the benefit of my aging body and the second is for the benefit of my heart (you know, the one from which the mouth derives its speech). The specifics of these two shall remain undisclosed for everyone's sake! The third resolution, however, is for the benefit of my aging mind and you, my faithful readers, are about to be "in the know."
If you paid any attention to the beginning of this post, you may wonder what in the world all this has to do with explaining the previous "Words of Love" note. Well...my third resolution is to memorize at least 1 poem, or literary passage, or Scripture passage, or hymn, etc. each month, in order to keep my brain active. My choice for February was the Lord Byron poem which I shared on Valentine's Day. Since my mental and emotional energies are directed to activities other than writing these days, I have to share other people's thoughts with you and those newly memorized "Words of Love" were at my disposal. Feel better now? Me too. Can't have you thinkin' I've turned all soft and sweet on you now, can I?
3 comments:
I think you need to change your blog title to "She IS a Lady"---with your turning all soft and sweet on us. :-)
Memorizing poems, scriptures, etc. is a great idea. There's no faster way to do it then putting the passages to music....I've found that to be the case with Psalm-chanting. You can make up your own music, too!
Agree with Angie. But I think it is good to consciously think about what could be improved on and act on it--but I hope that isn't the only time people think about change--every new year. In fact, I think it is a great idea to memorize. I am making it public--I want to memorize a psalm. Good that you are starting out at young age. Joanie
Angie - maybe YOU can make up your own music! The last time I did that was in college...I set John 17 to music and I've never forgotten the words or the tune. Crazy!
Thankfully, memorization still comes relatively easily for me...here's hoping to keep it that way!
Joanie - you are now my favorite person of the month...calling me young and all! While I was teaching, my brain was VERY busy...either learning something new or mastering something so I could teach it well. I also required myself to write what the papers that I required of them and to memorize whatever they had to memorize. I only recently realized that now I have to make new opportunities for myself since these are no longer available! I'm gonna hold you accountable about the Psalm. Start with 119...it's an easy one.
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