Everyone applies a filter through which their thoughts and emotions are displayed to the world. Typically, this is done unconsciously (and I have written about this concept before). When writing a personal journal that can be read by all, you have to decide what filter to use and how much to reveal. Today, I wrote an entry that, although written in a metaphorical form, would have been too revealing to anyone who knows me and my family. So, the entry for today was written, but it will never be posted.
There is the often asked question of whether if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make any noise. I think that the answer must be yes since sound is independent of hearing. Similarly, if one writes a journal entry and no one is allowed to read it, was there really a journal entry. Of course! Because in the first instance the the journal entry is written for me as a personal expression. If it is read by others who get any reaction from reading it, all the better. Like any other art form, people will react to it in different ways, but it is the fact that there is a reaction that is important. They can love it, hate it or feel indifferent about it, but each is a feeling (although I prefer the "love it" reaction). In some ways, the journal may be like my sense of humor. My first audience is myself, and it is all the better if someone else gets a laugh or smile, or even groans.
So, after starting with nothing to say, I have said something or nothing, but either way it took quite a few words.
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1 comment:
Agree with you about the journaling. I find I often edit myself while posting. How much do you want to reveal your inner most person to the rest of the world (even if that “world”) is small. I have been surprised at times to find someone IRL has read my blog. So far, I have not revealed too much of myself to the Internets, although more than I would have originally thought I would. In the end, I am posting for myself.
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