Why I Blog

I've discovered why I blog (...or don't blog).

It's not for lack of wanting, nor is it for lack of anything to say... come on, in the spectrum of windedness, I'm definitely privy to the long end of things. It's definitely something else. 

It's something that Wallace Stegner (author) addresses in many of his writings and calls 'a sense of place'. This phenomenon pertains to a person's ability to connect with his or her environment or the extent to which he or she is able to connect to his or her environment. Bottom line -- all humans need it and all humans seek to get it (if they don't have it). Stegner argues that it is only achieved through physical means -- laying claim to land, spending time in nature, etc. However... I've had a bit of a different experience and I would broaden his definition to include more. 

To me, 'a sense of place' has a lot to do with words, with communication. If I can somehow say what I mean to say, put something into the world that expresses truth, or revelation, or experience, or passion, or humor, or joy... and direct it 'homeward'... I am somehow comforted.

The most blogging I've ever done was at a time when I was not in a place I considered my physical home. I directed my words 'homeward' to forge some type of connection. And as I found my heart catching up with my body, the blogging began to diminish... my home was becoming where I stood. My roots were growing deep and my sense of displacement gave way to contentment. Rather than writing homeward, I began reaching outward, and I began to express myself to those around me.

So... why blog now, if I am content and have a sense of place? 

This time, it is not that I have left 'home' or moved away from my concept of a physical 'home'... it is because a part of this home has departed to another place. Again... I find the need to direct my words (not all of them, but a generous helping) somewhere else, to commit to this connection and... hopefully... to help someone feel very much at home where he is. Ultimately... I hope all that is written will find its way, even if its circumnavigated, to the only real Home we will ever know -- and we will find rest there. 

And so... that's why I blog.