According to Wikipedia, “A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.”
Further, it lists types of blogs, such as Personal blogs. “The personal blog, an on-going diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following.”
And they list some benefits, the one I most relate to now is this one. Therapeutic benefits: “Scientists have long known the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences. Blogs provide another convenient avenue for writing about personal experiences. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery.”
This has been a great tool to help me post and write and journal more about the kids – and ducks 🙂 It has benefited me more than I thought it would – I didn’t anticipate that. I guess it is therapeutic. It has also started some multi-way dialog with family – that is a great benefit and keeps it fun.
Time to pause for a minute. I started posting on this site a few months ago as a way to share more about what’s going on with my family. I just started posting pictures and writing without much clear direction. My main objective has been to post pictures as frequently and timely as I can, without putting a lot of effort into being witty or deep. I struggle with that a bit as I’ve seen many great blogs that are witty, deep, and have better pictures 🙂 Let me know what you want to see and read about here. Can I every so often write about something on my mind that isn’t related to my kids? Would you rather I keep putting that in a separate hand-written journal that I keep? I don’t put my deepest, darkest thoughts in that either for fear of who’s going to find it after I’m gone, but it’s more gunk than you’ll ever find here.
For instance, this week I’ve been thinking a lot about the family of a firefighter whose wife finally passed away after a recurring battle with cancer. I saw him and his son several weeks ago and as we were talking he made the comment “you never think you’ll be here”. I agree – this is way too young for them to be going through losing a wife and mother. It is so easy to say “don’t take life for granted” and “enjoy every moment”, but then you get wrapped up in the frustrations of life…these little wake up calls last temporarily but eventually dissipate and you unfortunately get back into your old routine and forget to honor and cherish the ones you love all the time. Another coworker was diagnosed with breast cancer within the past few weeks – again, way, way too young. As Gio put it, “we’ll have lots of inspiration guiding our steps” in the Relay for Life this year. It is a very powerful event that I’ve done for several years now. I won’t pressure anyone to donate to any of the events that I do, but if you get the urge – we are the Eden Praire Police and Fire team (I haven’t registered yet so wait a few weeks). Another co-worker has a son who beat cancer – his team every year is Chris’ Cancer Crushers. He is still in high school so they always have a huge crowd that brings a lot of energy with it. Last year an insane member of their team carried a 45 lb wait around the track with him over his head for lap after lap after lap. I don’t know what it represented but his stamina and energy for this event was amazing!
Another, for instance of something I could blog about. Last week I started listening to The Secret on CD as I drove to work. It’s hard for me to talk about The Secret without violating the premise of the secret. The Secret is the Law of Attraction – you get what you think about (which is especially important if your thoughts are mostly negative). Basically, for example, if you want to get more money you need to start thinking positively about money. Every thought must be positive. If you see a new car (that you previously thought you couldn’t afford, and regardless of what is actually in your bank account), you tell yourself “I can afford that car; I can buy that car”, you do the same about everything you see that week “I can afford that whatever”. You similarly think positive thoughts about everything in your life. You turn negative statements into positive statements (instead of “I hate McCain”, you say “I love Obama“). So…was I skeptical before…sure (to put it mildly). Am I skeptical now…I can’t say anymore (as I said, for fear of violating The Secret). I’ve been forcing myself to have positive thoughts about money all week…and then last night I get an email from my dad saying he’s sending a check as a result of an inheritance from my Great Uncle. Truly amazing! The ironic part is that we just met with our financial advisor Wednesday morning and we decided then that I needed to sell some stock in order to take advantage of something else (trust me, the details will bore you) – the check that my dad is sending is the exact amount of the stock that I needed to sell – that’s crazy. I’m still going to sell that stock so I can do something more fun with this new found money – but I’m telling you to start thinking positive thoughts all the time. You are what you believe.
Ok, now this is way too long, but I do want to hear your thoughts on whether me putting in stuff like this will drive you away from this site. Let me know.
I truly believe things happen for a reason, sometimes we don’t know why, but that’s not important. This brought a tear to my eye when I read about you receiving the news of the monetary gift from us and how it has affected your life. I also believe in positive thoughts and I think dad and I both have always tried to find the best in people. I few weeks ago our minister was telling a story in his sermon of his walking from the church downtown to the bank and he was so caught up in his thoughts and wasn’t watching where he was going, that when he went to push the street crossing button, he accidentally bumped into a little old lady that he hadn’t seen. So, he said, “I’m sorry, are you alright?” And, she said, ” I’m so blessed, I have no reason to complain.” He said it really changed his day and I keep thinking of the story. I think so often we complain about too, too many things that aren’t important in the long run. I’m so sorry to hear about the firefighter’s wife that died. I’m assuming it’s the woman on your web page. I haven’t read it yet.
I like the deep thoughts (If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is “God is crying.” And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is “Probably because of something you did.” – Jack Handy). No, seriously, I do like to read postings like this… definitely won’t drive me away.
Ditto for me. A lot of energy is wasted on negativity.
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale had a similar theme in his book “The Power of Positive Thinking.” I think there’s also a website that continues his message.
A variety on your blog is good. It’s nice to read what’s on your mind from time to time.
Many times in life I’ve wondered if certain things have happened because of a fluke or fate. I’m convinced that things most certainly happen for a reason.