We Blog to Know We're Not Alone

Dear friends,

This past week I read The No Brainer Blog, by Hayley Morgan. I fully expected it to be an ebook full of practical tips (and it is), but I did not expect to discover something soul stirring, something to articulate this whole blogging experience which many of us can't seem to get enough of:

"People want to know that they are not alone, and writing is our way to serve a lonely world."

I've been trying to find the words to explain my drive for blogging. Partly, I want to challenge myself to strive for excellence. I've written about this yearning here and here and most recently here. But I have also come to recognize that I need to be part of a tribe. I need to share my heart and sometimes I need to soak up what's on your heart.

Because we need each other.

C.S. Lewis said, "We read to know we're not alone." I can't stop reading epic tomes because within them I find timeless companions in worlds I could never enter otherwise. My hunger for this is absolutely insatiable.

Nearing the end of Anna Karenina, I've started to feel the equivalent of a "runner's high".

I'm thinking, Leo Tolstoy you crazy, wonderful, Russian nutcase! I love your mind!

His writing makes me feel validated. It makes me feel like I'm not the only person in the world who notices stuff. It makes me feel like I'm not the only person who has attempted to plumb the depths of the human soul in a desire to empathize with others more fully.

Someone recently asked me how I can read a 900+ page classic novel. "Isn't it boring?"

My answer: "How can I not read it? I'm feeling drawn to it right now, because there's conversations going on in there. Things are happening!" The mysteries of the universe are being pondered at this very moment!"

Back to Hayley's words:

"...writing is our way to serve a lonely world."

This is true. But I have to warn you: put on your crash helmet. In order to speak to the heart of a lonely world, first you have to endure suffering. It is not until you suffer that you find you have something to say. You must take the ugly mess you've been handed and knead it, form it, and  sculpt it carefully with both hands -- by the grace of God! Then you must give it give back to the world with an aching, humble heart. It's your gift to give.

How can I write about betrayal if I have never been betrayed? How can I write about loneliness or loss without going through some years in the wilderness? How can I fully empathize with injustice if I have always been treated fairly? How can I assist others in overcoming a social stigma, if I have never had a social stigma to overcome?

Thank you dear blog friends for re-shaping your ugly messes into gifts which aid me in my journey.

May your day of Thanksgiving be blessed beyond compare!

Love to all,

Adriana