Powerful insight

I started this blog as a way to share information about the beads I am learning to make from polymer clay. It has turned into a different animal altogether. As I think about the colors, shapes or patterns of the beads, my mind travels to a place and time where I first encountered those same colors,shapes or patterns. Who'd a thunk it? Is blogging this way for everyone? The fact that you're writing your innermost thoughts in a place where anyone in the world might accidentally bump up on them is a marvelous and frightening thing. Here's what I have learned so far: 1)You become much more conscious of spelling,punctuation and grammar when writing in a blog. You want your thoughts to come across clearly,but more importantly,you don't want someone out there to see a mistake and think you don't know better. 2)Even we shy folks become bold enough to say to someone,"Read what I have written. Please." Wow. Just wow. 3)Long forgotten memories surface to help you to make a point. I think this may be true of all writing. 4)Your reading audience could be anybody in the world. This can and should make you think twice about every word you post. Is it kind? Is it true? What feeling will the reader take away after reading what you have written?
What do the beads pictured have to do with today's post? Well......I write and doodle with a brilliant blue pen on white paper and....

Shy Violet

I was in a meeting today listening to a discussion on blogging as an educational tool. Why was I listening and not contributing? I’m not quite sure. I suppose you could call it shyness, reticence, embarrassment, maybe fear of sounding foolish. Finally I blurted out, “I adore blogging!” We teach others that writing is valuable and needful, but do we really realize the value of writing ourselves? When writing for an audience, we shy folk tend to say much more than we would ever venture to say face-to-face. We have time to think about word choice, tone, focus, even punctuation and precision. We can revise until we’ve expressed exactly what we intended. This almost never happens in a real conversation for us. I started a blog about creating which has, surprisingly, turned into an autobiographical treatise. I’ve begun with a clear vision about what I wanted to post and found that forgotten people, places, and events resurface to help me clarify a point. We teach that there are three purposes for writing: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. I say there is a fourth purpose: to know our own minds. It’s amazing how our brains put on travelin’ shoes when we write.