Thursday, January 27

 

I’ve written over 1100 posts for this blog over the past 12 years, although not with the sort of regularity I might have wanted.  I’ve never doubted the value of what I am doing but the execution has left a bit to be desired.  There are periods, like the past three weeks, where I write nearly every day, and then there are flat spots like 2015 when I only wrote 22 in the whole year.

 

So what is the value of this indulgence?  There’s the value of the record, of course.  Marilyn asked me this morning: when was Andrea married?  A few minutes of scouring and there was the answer – January 27, 2018.  There’s the value of the memories, and I take great pleasure in re-reading excerpts from previous years and re-living the experiences they evoke.  There’s the mental health aspect.  Everyone likes to think that their life has meaning and that meaning is enhanced by the fact of writing it down.

 

There’s also self esteem.  When other parts of the body are slowing to a creaking halt, when your hair is thinning and your muscles are wasting away, when your eyes are dimming and your hearing is going, it is great to exercise the last part of your body to wither. If you want to accomplish something else in your life, you’ll have to use your mind and your memory.  Thank goodness for computers!

 

But, perhaps, the most important value is that it is a commitment.  It helps me to look for meaning in what happens day to day.  What happened today that is worth writing about?  How can I turn that anecdote into something worth recording?

 

Samuel Pepys wrote his dairy in the 17^th century and people still refer to it today.  Of course, the bit they want to read is the section about the Great Fire of London and I don’t expect that anyone will find the same interest in my jottings. 

 

I sometimes think that nobody will be interested in my comments about what we are watching on television, for example.  But writing for an audience is only part of the process.  I note that 7 people read yesterday’s blog, or maybe it was one person who read it 7 times.  If size of audience was the criterion for whether to write the blog or not, I would have given up years ago but, thankfully, it’s not.  I’ll write it anyway, and for other reasons.