My Dona Nobis Pacem post was a tad on the dark side this time. These days it is hard for me to think of peace and not free-associate with “gloomy.”
But one positive post that really struck me was by RennyBA from Norway. You should all go and read his words.
His point is that we, as bloggers, can make a difference in this world. He argues that there is a relationship between “peace” and “blogging.” Blogging connects people, and since it creates connections, it MUST ultimately lead to peace. I like that argument.
- I like the fact that I can read the words of people all over the world and respond to those words.
- I like it that people from all over the US join in the weekly Unplugged Project, as well as Spain, Canada, the UK, Taiwan, and Fiji so far. We leave our differences behind and all come together once a week in a common endeavor benefiting our children.
- I like it that Renny, half a world away in Norway, can lift my spirits here in rural Arizona, USA.
Most people are wonderful.
Small epiphanies like this are why I blog.
Thank you Renny!
++++++++++++++++++++
Something amazing has happened.
My mailbox was knocked down several weeks ago by a snowplough and we only just fixed it yesterday. Yesterday I also went to the post office to collect my wheelbarrow-load of catalogs, bills, and junk.
But among all that mundane waste of trees was something totally unexpected. Cards. Many cards and notes addressed to my children. From people all over the country, people I do not know, unfamiliar names and addresses on the envelopes. Each one contained dollar bills, thank yous and well-wishes to my daughter from complete strangers for her Heifer International Project.
We were stunned, awe-struck and literally moved to tears. As my husband and I sat there teary and speechless, my daughter opened envelope after wonderful envelope.
I don’t know which of you dear blog friends organized this, only a few of you have my name and address, but you and your friends have given us the absolute best Christmas gift ever.
But this is really not about Christmas. It is bigger than Christmas. We all agree that these simple, thoughtful notes and donations to my daughter’s favorite charity from complete strangers, deepens our faith in humanity and in the power of people to do good for each other in this world.
That is absolutely the best gift we could ever possibly receive. Thank you. Thank you all.
I just want to say a big thank you to DeepBlog for choosing to list Unplug Your Kids as one of their “Promising New Blogs. ” DeepBlog is “an easy to use guide and portal to quality blogs for newcomers to the blogosphere.”
They also published my two “why I blog” posts (Why am I Doing This? and Why I Blog) on their “Why I Blog” page. The “Why I Blog” page has essays and first posts from a wide variety of bloggers from all over the blogosphere writing about (…obviously…) why they blog and what they get out of blogging. It is definitely worth a look, especially if you wonder, as I constantly do, why we do this crazy thing!
Thanks so much for the support DeepBlog! I am honored.
Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer penywise for this great picture!
I am having a cynical day today. I am uninspired as to a post. Why bother anyhow? Here I am pondering the great question about whether to finally write my “Magenta Drier Lint” post or publish a photo of a squirrel enjoying a meal at my squirrel-proof bird feeder.
There are wars and massacres and horrible things happening everywhere. Shouldn’t I write about that? Am I going to change the world through magenta drier lint?
I guess humans can only absorb so much negativity before the urge to escape it kicks in. Perhaps that is where my blog fits into the grand scheme of the universe.
No one really cares what color my drier lint is today (and if you do, you have even less of a life than me!), but in the minute or two that it takes to read about my drier lint we can temporarily forget the woes of the world. Drier lint connects us all. It is a commonality. A banality. A comfort that drier lint still exists for all of us amidst violence and chaos.
As my husband (who rarely reads my blog) said the other day upon reading my recent Sea Monkey post: “No wonder you are taking the universe by storm!” Well, as you can imagine, he was being a tad sarcastic.
I am not exactly taking the universe, the planet, the blogosphere, my town, or anyplace else (except maybe my laundry room) by storm. However, I guess I would like to think that it is somehow possible to change the world, one magenta fluff ball at a time.
PS. Not to disappoint my vast public (all three of you), but the great “Magenta Drier Lint” post will have to wait until a more inspired day. So stay tuned!
Question: Why do you read / write blogs? Please answer in the comments.
I have long struggled with the issue of why I am so invested in this silly blog! I wrote about it once: Why Am I Doing This?
Today a friend directed me to “blink140pnt6′s” blog Training Makes Me Hungry! Hunger Makes Me Train! Being a complete non-jock I would never normally have stumbled upon the blog of an Ironman triathlete and ultra-marathoner.
I read his post today (Good Bye, Big Dog) about having to put down his dog Drake, also known as “Big Dog.” This simple tribute from a man I don’t know, to a dog I don’t know, touched me in a way I never could have expected. I sat in front of my computer sobbing with tears streaming down my face.
Long suppressed images of beloved pets that I have had to put to sleep, flowed into memories of my mother and her final illness, and spilled out of my eyes and down my cheeks.
When a stranger from far away can reach you in your kitchen and change your day, that is a true and beautiful connection. It gives me hope for humanity and the future. Love is universal.
The internet could be a medium for such good, allowing us to reach out and connect with each other no matter where we live, what we believe, whether klutz or triathlete. This kind of experience is a reminder to me that human beings the world over share so much. Perhaps this is why I blog.
Comments (1) 
Themocracy