Why blog?

If it is not for economic gain, why blogger bother?

As an introvert I’m in my bliss. ‘Other life’ is on hold so I’m free to work on assignments uninterrupted … except I’m struggling to focus. Daily news is restricted to protect my brain from being invaded by issues beyond my control. But there’s a civil war going on in my mind for which of my numerous projects should be assigned that attention.  (‘Garden rebuild’, ‘Plot 148’, ‘Home is where the Hammer is’, ‘Wordless Spaces’, ‘Travel’ etc.)

No one has won.

In short: my mental space is a jumble. However I’ve got a decade old blog to remind me that stress has done this before. During the Christchurch earthquakes life was in disarray; little made sense and posting was often an arduous task. Still I walked the streets.

Photography and blogging were my vehicles to process those experiences.

I did not know what the outcome would be – it was simply a discipline through my days. *

Now I’m so pleased to have a collection of blogs to reflect on, sort and edit into a cohesive body of work. I’m still revisiting sites and photographing the new builds but I’m more purposeful in my approach now because I have had a plan for completion. Lockdown has temporarily halted that!

It’s usually easy to tell a personal blog from one solely for money-making purposes. The one is perfect with matching images; a regimented programme of posts and click-bait titles.

The other has soul. 

I know which I prefer to follow. Flaws keep it real.

So I’m going to post at random, as I corral my ideas. I hope you don’t mind the roller coaster ride. Each blog is ‘tagged’ to maintain some sense of order. Down the track I’ll sort them into more cohesive collections.

What’s important for now is not to succumb to blog freeze. The obstacles are real, the climb hard. I hope you also keep blogging. 

*A few years later I was approached by the Canterbury University to digitally archive some of these blogs and the letters I sent home, for their Quake Studies. Basically they have recorded slices of life during the Christchurch earthquake rebuild.