Safety zone.

Blogging is such an interesting communication dynamic. If you think about it in the barest sense of what it actually is, it's weird. It's a person talking to nobody, and at the same time it's a person talking to everybody. Personal blogging (as opposed to, say, tech blogging or something) is even stranger. It's someone saying, "Here. Sit down. I'll write you a letter and tell you all about my life. I might know you, or I might not. You might read it, or you might not. You might reply, or you might not. You might approve, or you might not." There are so many variables and unknowns and blogging leaves a lot of room for abuse of the medium. The (seeming) anonymity of the project can lead to oversharing, or fake curated lives. Similarly, the open-ended nature of the discussion can result in a misuse of trust. There are just as many jerks on the internet as there are in real life, but on the internet the jerk can walk right up to someone and say something jerklike and -- then walk away (without either being recognised or punched in the nose).

Yet even though the ability to misuse the medium is dangling within everyone's reach, I think it's worth it.
In spite of everything, I love blogging and what it represents. Even more than that, I am wowed by the people who have jumped into this pool with me. Life's busy; we've all got a million things to do. So when someone takes the time to read and, even more, comment, it blows me away.

I think I'm feeling this especially after my last post, which was raw and uncool and kind of intimate, in a way. Intimacy scares people. But in spite of the shaky ground, a whole bunch of you responded with your own honesty and genuineness and -- I'm actually grinning at my computer monitor just thinking about it.

So here's to you guys, the readers. I wish you tiny apples, fresh sourdough, and bush honey. You've made this blog a safe space, and you're great.