It’s Not About Thinking
Did you catch Dawud’s Monday installment in our ongoing conversation? He deftly answered What Do You Do When A Commenter Just Isn’t Hearing You? Dawud described a gracious way to respond and reminded us that we’re always talking to another person, not just words in a box. Then, he followed with a question for me — Liz, the relationship blogger.
How has your blog changed the way you think about relationships?
Ah Dawud, what a question.
The short answer is completely.
I Knew Everything about Relationships Until an Audience Came
I used to think I knew about relationships. They were an idea, involving people. I thought that relationships were a choice — take part or not. I thought they fell into neat categories like blog posts in my sidebar do — family I claim, family I don’t, friends of my heart, folks at work, folks I’ve known, . . . folks I’ve met — the fiends, the forgiven, the forgotten, and the forgettable.
I used to think I had a big heart, but obviously I was suffering from relationship myopia. It’s a common malady.
Then I got a blog.
I was already a writer. I made a blog place under a white oak on the riverbank. I prepared to write alone. A few friends would be listening — the friends of my heart. They were a handful at most. After all, how many folks want to know what I know, what I think, what I dream, what I remember, what stories I have to tell? That’s what I thought. That’s who I was.
I knew everything about relationships. I was a writer, a manager. I had been there.
Then an audience came, an audience who talked back to me.
I met a fine writer, who blogged the most marvelous stories of his past and present days. I met another who made sense of life in California . . . . and on a lonely Friday night I found someone who reveled in the glory of a weekend with a child, a poet who understood what I meant when we disagreed, and a science fiction artist/writer who virtually visited me when I wrote — I’m still inspired by them.
I met a brilliant scientist . . . moms who shared their families, an artist, a home builder, the small business guy, the crusader, the hero, the leader, the guy in charge. They didn’t fit in categories.
Someone said, “I never expected to care so much about these people who have become so dear to me.” I know exactly what she meant.
That audience, those readers, changed the way that I think and the way that I see.
I don’t think about relationships anymore. I see the people I have relationships with and the incredible differences they make. I see the changes we make in each other.
I got a blog. An audience came and changed everything. It’s still a wonder.
________________
Now a question back, Dawud.
Do you see a difference between your online relationships and those offline — beyond the obvious physical differences?
If you’re reading this, I’m not just asking Dawud the question, I’d love to hear your answer too, in the comment box below.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
One2One is a cross-blog conversation. Find the answer at dawud miracle on Monday. You can see the entire One-2-One Conversation series on the Successful Series page.
In Case You Missed It: Writing 06-13-07
