An Occasion for Reflection

“Leisure is not tied to work the way that recreation is—leisure is self-contained. The root of the word is the Latin 'licere' which means 'to be permitted,' suggesting that leisure is about freedom. But freedom for what? According to Chesterton’s cheerful view, leisure was above all an opportunity to do nothing. When he said 'doing nothing,' however, he was describing not emptiness but an occasion for reflection and contemplation, a chance to look inward rather than outward.”-Witold Rybczynski


A number of bloggers have been apologizing lately for infrequent or abbreviated postings. Dan Meyer has a laundry list of future topics but can't get to them right now (he is quick to assert that his love of blogging is still intact, in stark contrast to the unsettling comments by Will Richardson which seemed to indicate that, since "blogging is work these days", Will might be moving in the direction of more personalized communication venues, like Skype). Christian Long is seriously involved in family and career at the moment, but relies on cyber colleagues to keep his "radar tuned in." In Tim Stahmer's case, a scarcity of postings is "completely due to an overload of work."

Are apologies or clarifications necessary? Perhaps. A blog is more than a news article or casual "conversation". Bloggers speak directly to their audience, sharing their convictions, emotions, hopes and dreams. Personal relationships are established between people who might, probably won't, meet face to face yet who have connected in a very real sense. The more prominent the blogger, the more the audience becomes attached to, and reliant upon, his/her communications. An abrupt cessation of blogging might be seen as a betrayal of sorts.

Yet the blogger has the right to a balanced life, a time for professional and personal growth: the leisure to investigate, reflect, create.

Blogging is not a job. It's a medium of creative expression, an avocation.

"Some will not recognize the truthfulness of my mirror. Let them remember that I am not here to reflect the surface ... but must penetrate inside. My mirror probes down to the heart. I write words on the forehead and around the corners of the mouth. My human faces are truer than the real ones."-Paul Klee