Why blog?

I have been struggling with this question.

I've journaled my entire life, one way or another, but that has been for my eyes alone, my personal feelings, thoughts, emotions.

Some times I've felt an urge to document something, to preserve it—be it a tiny flower, a sunset, words of my sweet granddaughter Tabitha, an experience. Some times it's not enough to silently tuck these away, though, and I've had the desire to share these moments in time through my writing, photographs or mere conversation.

I've amassed a huge collection of quotations, of books and articles by others, adding to my personal collection of observations and reflections.

This is all part of my journey through life, as trite as it sounds, of finding the truths....and, ultimately, sharing these truths.

"We begin and end in authenticity, and in between, our task is to find ways to make that authenticity relevant to the world," according to Dawna Markova in I will not die an unlived life.

"I am pulled between the force of my appreciation and the hopeless inadequacy of ever truly expressing it," she says.

I often feel this way, too. That's why I keep trying.

I always think of my life—and how it is joined with others—as a patchwork quilt or a weaving. The internet, the World Wide Web, is a perfect example. Sometimes it's a "crazy quilt," with its multitude of diverse pieces and threads, seeming not to have any pattern.

But look more carefully: the commonalities, the threads, how they do come together, if not in an apparent pattern, then simply by touching and allowing the reader to move away with a newer interpretation or insight.

Lately, I've found myself influenced and inspired by several blogs on the internet, our newest means of communication. What an overwhelming amount of creativity lurks in cyberspace!

What makes one delve deeper and deeper into the web, pushing that next arrow or link? We are all searching, seeking, with a deep need to know (though sometimes it's mere curiosity). Why do people visit museums, art and history? Why do they frequent the library? Why do they listen to ancient chants and modern jazz or hip-hop?

"Understanding and wisdom are largely forgotten as we struggle under an avalanche of data and information," said Dee Hock in Birth of the Chaordic Age (quoted by Markova ).

That's what often happens as we lose track of time following those links, downloading and printing pages and pages.

I'm reminded of another quote:

"Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making of something out of it after it's found." (James Russell Lowell)

And from that other famous artist, Pablo Picasso:

"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web."

This is why I love scrapbooking so much. Ali Edwards calls us scrappers "Life Artists." We document life, we preserve memories, but with a creative hand. Often we use our photos, writing, drawing, painting and other artistic media.

C.D. Muckosky, who has especially inspired me lately, says:

"Scrapbooking is my own creative playground."

The final push to create this blog came Sunday morning while I was walking, totally immersed in Nature and a beautiful morning. More about that next time....

And, lest you think I am not original, don't have a thought of my own, let me leave you with this one that popped into my head one morning:

Creativity: the soul reflected.