Life in General!

Don’t be afraid of the dark!

The Indecisive Eejit41 Comments
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Image by Jim Pennucci

Imagine WordPress is a lake, where the waters are calm and still. This morning when I opened the reader, something felt different, almost like a storm was brewing. There were ripples on the normally smooth surface of the water. Sadness, people leaving, people hurting, it kind of knocked me for six a little.

When I started blogging I have to admit I was a little scared. Sure I had experience of WordPress before, but that was on a self hosted blog that no one ever read. The first couple of months contained many days of me stumbling around in the dark trying to find my way, experimenting and generally teaching myself how to publish a post.

For the first while you hang around unseen, watching and hoping one day you are brave enough to comment on that post that you really liked. You quickly find all the ‘cool’ blogs, because those are the ones everyone gravitates to. You don’t feel worthy to be seen, so you observe from a distance, thinking, ‘when I grow up, I want to be a blog just like that one.’

You feel that every post you write deserves to be Freshly Pressed and obsessively check your e-mails in case you delete that precious message by mistake. Then when you have the time you actually check out some of the posts that have been given the award and reality slaps your resoundly about the face when you realise that if that’s the standard that is required then it’s never coming your way. As time goes on you realise it doesn’t matter anyway, there are much more worthwhile reasons to blog.

Still you hanker after the cool blogs, liking and commenting in the hopes of being noticed, because after all that’s what you are advised to do, get yourself out there and make new friends. Your pride is a little dented when after a month you have still gone unnoticed,  but a few strangers stop by to say hello.

The strangers become friends, and bring some of their own along. The craic is good and before you know it you are visiting the cool blogs less and less. You have the approval of the people that matter to you, and that’s more than enough.

One day you realise that all blogs are the same, because they are being run by humans and humans make mistakes. Don’t let anyone make you feel less than worthy, appreciate those who already think you are good enough.

Don’t be afraid of the dark, and don’t be dazzled by bright lights, it’s all the little ones that come when you least expect it that light your way! Don’t give up, they will find you.

41 thoughts on “Don’t be afraid of the dark!”

  1. Tell the stories. Listen to the stories. Comment.
    Occasionally throw irrelevant asides in parentheses.
    (Oh, like you’ve never done it.)
    (Really? You haven’t?)
    (Wow. I’m a little embarrassed now.)

    Thanks for a quick perspective while I try and shove some words into the shape I want them in on my own site.

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  4. Very well said. I have been trying to stay on my little space while I deal with my own issues but it is sad to see some of the fallout so far.

    (And I like what Jaded said about the dark too :-) )

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    • Sadly I think there is probably more to come. In hindsight i realise it probably is better to remain unknown and in the shadows, despite how much I had aspirations of being amazing lol I can live without being amazing! lol

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  6. This post just feels so right at this moment. I wasn’t planning on commenting right now but was still reading and enjoying the blogs I regularly frequent and came across your words. When I am ready to start posting again I will come back here, read this and know your words are true. I will not be afraid of the darkness or the sadness. Thank you so much for that. You could never know how much it means.

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  9. I can totally live without being amazing. I’m a bit sad that new people don’t go back and read my early stuff, but nowadays I don’t have time to go back on new blogs either. I’m still a couple dozen behind in reading the blogs I already follow!

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    • I started reposting some of my older stuff, from the time when I had like zero followers. When I changed my blog name a lot of stuff wasn’t seen either. Perhaps you should do a page highlighting your best bits :)

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    • Thank you very much, that’s really nice of you to say and it means a lot :) I’m glad you’re following along and you are more than welcome. Everyone who hangs around here loves interaction. I hope likewise though, that you don’t mind if I pay a visit or two to your blog. :)

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      • It’s more that I’ve been doing it this long, but I don’t get more than 20 comments… I’m lucky if I even get that many. Usually it’s more like 3-10.

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      • I’m lucky to have a very chatty bunch here so I usually have more comments than likes. Daily prompts and things like that helped me, plus finding some amazing blogging companions and commenting on them.
        I actually didn’t realise how much hard work it would be this blogging malarky!

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