About Blogging

It has taken me just too long to get into blogging. When I was first invited to view a blog, I did so with a little curiosity and forgot to return. So the idea became a neglected seed at the back of my mind. But now that I'm here, at last, I find it rather addictive - a bit like Facebook without the throwing of sheep and brain-dead-fruitless-friend-finding-missions; you know the kind: you get poked by somebody you don't know. It was probably accidental. But you wonder how they know you, so you start scrolling through their list of friends. You see a couple of names that either look slightly familiar, or have intriguing profile pictures. You click on their friends. Before you know it your scrolling through friends of friends of friends and all of a sudden you're late to fetch the kids from school - aaaargh! Mad dash! You get home and sit right down again picking up where you left off. Next thing you know you're actually filling in answers to the never-ending movie quiz...

And so it goes.

But back to blogging. In blogging I have found an ever present friend ready to lend an ear to my woes and sorrows. Sometimes my friend is quiet, but sometimes he offers me a couple of responses (which are always nice!).

Blogging helps me vent, helps me put my thoughts down in language. I find this very therapeutic. Plus it's cheaper than therapy, so I can't complain!

As a way of practicing my literary ability, I'm finding blogging helpful. A bit pressurising at times - the thought that there are readers lurking out there quietly critiquing my work and possibly vowing to block my blog for future reference is somewhat intimidating.

The other pressure linked to blogging is coming up with new ideas. Nobody really wants to hear about my day (on a boring day. Of course, if the neighbour's house is on fire, that's another story!) Mostly my day is pretty standard. So to post a "Dear Diary, this is how I spent my morning..." would be painful, to say the least.

So I find that I sit pondering over ideas and events, figuring out what would entertain as well as alleviate my inner-turmoils. I find that if I try too hard, I get nothing, zip, blank slate. I figure it's best to just let it flow.

Perhaps a little alcohol would help to loosen things up a bit?

Which brings me to a point I have been mulling over for some-time: substance-assisted performance. Have there been any specifically prominent and outstanding artists who have excelled sans some mind-altering substance? I guess the question I'm asking is: would the afore-mentioned artists still be as good without the drugs and booze?

Every flourishing pop group on the planet is smoking/ spiking/ sipping something. Writers, sculptors, dancers, athletes. Sure they may have an initial talent, but to really be the best, are they not artificially-enhanced to a degree?

Do you think MichaelAngelo could paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, lying on his back for 4 years working on a project he was not even interested in doing but being forced to by the pope without the assistance of some magic potion he kept tucked in his sock? He claimed to be a sculptor, not an artist, so the ceiling was not really on his list of things to do. (There now, you've learnt something new!) Looking at the results today, can you think for one second that he did all that without a cocktail of paint thinners and clay precipitate coursing through his bloodstream?

How about Stephen King? What normal, unintoxicated human actually has those kind of bizarre thoughts floating through his head just waiting to flow out of the writer's pen? I'm not a Stephen King fan, but I gather he's a fairly popular author and is quite good at his craft.

I'm telling you, the good ones are on something!

And we all know about top athletes and steroids, so I'm not even going to go into that one.

All I'm saying is, perhaps there is some extraordinary ability locked up in each of us and to set it free, to actually enjoy the fullness of one's potential, perhaps illegal substances can be a quick kick start? I'm not condoning drugs and alcohol abuse here, I'm just musing on what I see. Feel free to disagree.

And then keep reading my blog, because there will always be something more...