What are Blogs?

Your probably wondering why this post was posted the same day as the one below. Good question, well I had quiet a bit to say I guess (its a part of being a rather quiet person, you think overly much and never really have a way to get it out. Then when an avenue presents itself it all comes tumbling out, usually without rhyme reason or any cohesiveness. Although to the one who's talking it all makes sense.) and really didn't want to write it all down in one long post.

So as I wrestled with the thought of even starting this blog I was of course drawn to the question of "What do I hope to accomplish?". The answer was "to discuss those deeper things that are on my mind" as I did have a blog before that was more a diary than anything else, and that was more due to the fact that I had to write for my audience.

It also led to me dissecting others blogs. It seems to me that blogs, like diaries do more to reveal "the way a person is" than anything else. Now, let me take a second to explain what I mean by that phrase. "The way a person is" is everything that makes them who they are, the lens through which they see their world as well as they way they act talk and do everything. Its an all encompassing phrase. The way you talk, the way you walk, the way you think that people with piercings all over their face are weird, the way you see things as dirty even though no one else does, the way you think that people are staring at you even though no one is.

Now take for instance, Tom's blog The Emancipation of the Freed. Even if you have never met the man you can tell from the way he writes and what he writes about, the color and tint of the lens he sees the world through. Now I'm not saying one color or tint or whatever is better than the other, I'm merely pointing out that what is seen through those lenses is not always what is seen through other's lenses. Just because you can see through the Great Divines lens doesn't mean that the color or tint of your lens still isn't present. That I think is a topic of discussion for some other post however.

Then we move to something else, Shadraq's blog The Edge. Has a seemingly similar feel but you can tell that the direction and aim is different. Its as if hes still working within the visible light spectrum but instead of the color blue hes working with the color green. Weird analogy, and I don't think even I fully understand what I just said.

His blog is very spiritual like toms, but you can tell that the two blogs differ in some way. Whether you can put your finger on it is something else entirely. The obvious differences are the way in which they relate to that spirituality. Tom is very forward about it, seemingly very traditional in his views. He relates to his world in a very traditional sense although continues striving to see it with a different lens. Shadraq relates to his spirituality through movies, music, etc. but most importantly through the parallels he can draw between his spirituality and Star Wars. For tom its the movie BraveHeart.

Shadraq tries to see clearer through his lens while Tom strives to change the color hue and tint of the lens he already has. Part of that I think is the age difference Tom has lived with his lens for longer than Shadraq and he has seen as clear as he can through it. Now its time to change the color and the hue to see the same scene differently.

But lets move on, to Joe's blog. With Joe's blog its a lot less about spirituality, more just a direct transcribing of his brain to electronic paper. Its like he opened a door and let you walk in. Its messy inside like it is in all of our brains. There are inside jokes you don't get, things that don't make sense, however when viewed through his lens it would all make sense. His blog is a lot harder to dissect. Its a much more....emotional blog maybe? Instead of taking what hes seen/experienced and trying to relate it to you in a way you can understand it, he's trying to get you to relate to him. He's not writing for his audience but inviting the audience along for a ride in his mind as he looks at the world.

All that to say what? Reading a persons blog is about finding out "the way a person is"? Maybe, but whether or not you realize it thats whats happening. Something to keep in mind next time you read something on someones blog.