James’ post The long view of a blog is a terrific first read of the day for me today. New month. New week. New day. New UTC time offset. And it’s about one of my favorite questions, “what does my website mean to me?”
The modality and presentation of content is part of the long view of my blog, too. My use of playful background images was a manifestation of how I want to blend the fun and the serious – that the two can co-exist. My progression onto a more simple theme with no playful background was made with the intent that I keep playfulness in another way. Hence, the mascot with a coffee cup on its head that sticks its tongue out.
The long view of the blog is arguably personal and perhaps only the author of the blog can tell what that story is – one of growth, of resilience, of exploration, of wonder, of discovery, of creation, of challenging, or whatever applies to the type of writing you do. It changes over time, too: with every new change and entry, the garden of the blog grows.
I would say that even the author of a work, be it a blog or a poem or a piece of pottery, may not know precisely what the story is at any given time.
There’s an aphorism I like:
Life is just one damned thing after another.
It’s a sentiment common enough that the originator is of the quote is not precisely known. It’s a special kind of truism. It seems to have resonated across time because life seems not to make narrative sense. One criticism of works of fiction is of a narrative full of plot, but with no meaning. And indeed, each new thing that happens may not make sense. But I feel convinced by regular practice of a craft meaning tends to emerge. I’m hopeful for that, for me, and for others.
Something else James says in his post is this:
I am delighted by the prospect that one of my blogs may help someone learn something new or think about something in a different way.
Last month I linked to Cabel Sasser’s XOXO talk. One of his slides reads “SEND THE NICE EMAIL”
I’ve been blogging for 23 years. And I’ve contributed code or assistance or both to online spaces for even longer. I’ve been thanked for my writing several times over the years. Sometimes a comment, sometimes an email, sometimes 1:1. Each time I feel that surge of glowing delight and joy. It feels good to make an impact.
I’m beginning today with some good thoughts, and with a bit of a redraw of James’ mascot cat.
As I wrote this this morning, it occurred to me that thematically I’ve been thinking about the IndieWeb Carnival theme for this month, “Impact.”.
Update, the artist responsible for James’ Mascot Cat is Andy Carolan.
