By Karen Chaffee
When building a positive life, most of us are aware of the value of finding balance in our multi-faceted selves and lives. While many things play a role in such an achievement, communication and interaction with others are often somewhere near the top of the list.Among the many beautiful ways there are to communicate, to interact with others, aside from conversation, writing and blogging are hard to beat for many of us who have come to love the process.
Writing As A Form of Self-Expression
Whether we write for ourselves alone or for a few or a crowd, writing is an excellent way to express ourselves. Unlike in a conversation, we have the option of taking our time, of thinking things through, of editing our work before putting it out there. There is something therapeutic in picking up pen or paper, in sitting down at the keyboard, that makes us come alive inside.
Some things are just plain easier to write than to say out loud. This is especially true for those who are more introverted than extroverted, or who are rather shy--people like me. Getting things from inside our heads to the outside carries with it a sense of putting a probem into perspective or of multiplying the joy we feel at a given time.
Writing As Education
Just as observation, hands-on doing, and reading are good ways to add to our education, so is writing or blogging. Most of us research beyond what we already know to put together a good post or a great article, not to mention when penning a book. Writing down what we've read reinforces the learning process, makes it more likely to "stick" with us. Editing works the same way.
Writing To Reach Out To Others
We want to make a positive difference, not just in our own lives, but in the lives of others. We long to share those things which have helped or hurt us, to extend our hand via writing as a way of helping others. Writing and blogging allow us that outlet, that outpouring of love for our fellow human beings.
Writing As Interaction
When blogging or sharing any form of our writing with others, there will be feedback. And we, in turn, can respond to that feedback. We've found yet another avenue for learning from and interacting with others, and that is a positive in life.
Writing To Earn
In the life of most writers/bloggers, there comes a point when we think about earning money from what we do. While not a get-rich-quick scheme for most, writing is definitely an avenue to explore as supplementing a current income or gaining a full-time income. For most of us, though, we will admit that, while earning from what we write would be nice, we'd do it any way, just for the love of it!
Karen Chaffee writes and blogs, among other places, at http://abeautifultracktion.blogspot.com
