Bad blogger
I am only a few days old in blogland and have already discovered short-cuts. This is not a good sign and suggestive of worse things to come. Blogs are meant to be fresh insights culled from the cauldron of daily life. They are meant to tell you, the readers, what I am going through at this point in time. But I go ahead and upload a poem that I had written a long time ago. A very simple solution to a nagging issue of filling up space or so it seems.
Now I do like the idea of disciplining oneself and ensuring that I do write something, at least, once a day. And the thought of writing something personal is a lot better than writing something out of a brief. But therein lies the crunch.
Most of us are so inundated with brief-oriented write-ups that we can write about just anything -- as long as the brief is specifid. Of course, briefs are rarely specific but I shall not go into that now. It's just the way the corporate world has shaped our writing process -- dehumanising, depersonalising, de-individualising our "selves".
Hence, writing from the heart and writing what we feel strong about comes rather hard or not at all. This is because we are trained not to feel just the way people in some totalitarian countries are trained not to think. It's the same thing, really. It's the marching band telling us to foxtrot from one's 'self' to something warm and cordial called a sense of belonging. In this land, individuality and individual expression are considered an affront to the general well-being because it upsets the homogeneity.
Now what does this have to do with my not writing a blog?
Well, everything. I was wondering why I felt so hesitant about opening up in a platform like this and realised that it had nothing to do with any inhibitions. It all boiled down to a lack of training in writing from the heart. It's not that I havent written from the heart before and I have but it's not often that I do so and when I have it has always been out of a conviction of sorts. There were times when I wanted to say something and I said it. What about those times when I want to talk about things that matter and there is no overlying motivation guiding me? I flounder in those circumstances and take a long detour generalising, pontificating and pondering... in other words, a bit like today's blog.
But I'll try and make amends. I'll be more regular in blogland and write about things and issues and things that really bug me or even fascinate me. But if you see a lot of poetry, then you will know what's happening...
By the way, in case you are wondering what's teh big deal about poetry... I used to be a prolific poetry writer at one stage but when I started working and prose entered my life... poetry took a back step. I do have a huge collection gathering dust and I find it very convenient sometimes.
Anyway, that's my stuff for today and I'll try and be more regular.
Now I do like the idea of disciplining oneself and ensuring that I do write something, at least, once a day. And the thought of writing something personal is a lot better than writing something out of a brief. But therein lies the crunch.
Most of us are so inundated with brief-oriented write-ups that we can write about just anything -- as long as the brief is specifid. Of course, briefs are rarely specific but I shall not go into that now. It's just the way the corporate world has shaped our writing process -- dehumanising, depersonalising, de-individualising our "selves".
Hence, writing from the heart and writing what we feel strong about comes rather hard or not at all. This is because we are trained not to feel just the way people in some totalitarian countries are trained not to think. It's the same thing, really. It's the marching band telling us to foxtrot from one's 'self' to something warm and cordial called a sense of belonging. In this land, individuality and individual expression are considered an affront to the general well-being because it upsets the homogeneity.
Now what does this have to do with my not writing a blog?
Well, everything. I was wondering why I felt so hesitant about opening up in a platform like this and realised that it had nothing to do with any inhibitions. It all boiled down to a lack of training in writing from the heart. It's not that I havent written from the heart before and I have but it's not often that I do so and when I have it has always been out of a conviction of sorts. There were times when I wanted to say something and I said it. What about those times when I want to talk about things that matter and there is no overlying motivation guiding me? I flounder in those circumstances and take a long detour generalising, pontificating and pondering... in other words, a bit like today's blog.
But I'll try and make amends. I'll be more regular in blogland and write about things and issues and things that really bug me or even fascinate me. But if you see a lot of poetry, then you will know what's happening...
By the way, in case you are wondering what's teh big deal about poetry... I used to be a prolific poetry writer at one stage but when I started working and prose entered my life... poetry took a back step. I do have a huge collection gathering dust and I find it very convenient sometimes.
Anyway, that's my stuff for today and I'll try and be more regular.
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