I'm In the Mood for Blog...

I’ve been thinking about the concept of writing a blog lately. I thought about what blogs are saying about us as a culture and as a nation at war. Many people who blog regularly about social issues, write from the heart and mean well. Most of us who blog want to put our best foot forward and show the world who we are – really are. And hope that others will see past our cyber-selves and into the compassionate soul on the other end of the keyboard.

However, in the recent past I have met many bloggers who, on the surface, seem to have the desire to do-good, but in reality I haven’t been able to figure out what they have actually done. We all find some way of dealing with what we consider our inner deficiencies. Some of us paint pictures, write poems, or simply throw dinner parties where we can vent full-force into the faces of our friends and loved ones while serving them lovely casseroles that come with a side order of pent-up frustration. But, maybe that is what blogging does, it helps us to vent and perhaps help others in the process.

Many of my friends are extremely intelligent, kind, and compassionate people, and yet their personal ‘’issues’’ cloud their ability to truly help others in a meaningful way. They haven’t been able to heal because they cannot acknowledge their inner deficiencies. Just as we, collectively as a nation, struggle to let go of intolerance and ignorance in all its forms. But, it always comes back to haunt us when we least expect it.

‘’Are you saying that we should then do nothing until we heal ourselves?’’ my friend Ron asked. While I couldn’t answer him immediately (my mouth was full of the bitter tasting casserole I had served that evening) – I do feel that there is something amiss when people cannot, or will not seek help with their own baggage before they try to help others overcome theirs. How can we help others if we sit around tolerating even coddling our own prejudices as though they were delicacies?

Some of my friends are activists who try to fight the good fight. They mean well, really they do. But when they are off the protest line, they behave in questionable ways. A few of them have some serious issues when it comes to dealing with others in a realistic manner. But they blog! And so do I. Because it feels like ‘’healing’’, a way of using the outer work (consciously, or unconsciously) to mask the difficulty of it all.

So, here is my answer to Ron – No. I do not think that we should all just sit idly while the world spins out of control. We must, and should act. But in ways that make deep, lasting changes. Not just take public actions that look good on the surface while the cauldron bubbles below. Shouldn’t we all be trying to heal ‘’ourselves’’ too, at the same time? We all have a lot of work to do. All of us. We need to balance our intellect and compassion and deal with some truthful self-examination. If we cannot come from a place of real honesty, what good are we to anyone else? Meantime, is anyone ready for dessert?