Do you have Bloggers License, a friend asked, querying something I’d written.
No, that was exactly how it happened I answered. I thought about this. As I complete three months worth of Blogging, I can see some patterns. As far as I can see, Bloggers write the truth, and nothing but the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth, in the interests of good taste, and other people’s feelings.
So for me, Bloggers License is being able to choose to write what we want and when we want- unlike the grindstone of journalism.
Bloggers Temptation is to write too much and too often for followers to keep up.
Bloggers Fatigue is to get behind with reading other people’s Blogs, and failing therefore to keep the other half of the Bloggers Contract – I engage to encourage you in the same way that you never fail to encourage me.
Bloggers Heaven is to open the computer and find Likes and Comments and Followings sprinkled like confetti all over the Inbox, and winking through all those other Blogs waiting to be read and enjoyed. Bloggers Heaven is also looking at Stats and seeing not just a high spike, but a lofty plateau of readers every day. If only.
Bloggers Hell is to open the computer and find nothing but other Blogs, and then open Stats and find only a dribble of readers. Hell, indeed.
Bloggers Hell leads to Bloggers Despair. Feeling that I am a failure. Feeling that I have nothing of value to say to the world. The world does not want to hear what I have to say. The world is passing me by. I write because I love it, but this is like starving in a garret with no-one to appreciate my literary gems…
Bloggers Delight is finding a Comment from a particularly admired Blogger, or an intelligent and perceptive Comment, or a Comment of such sincerity and goodness that you feel grateful for being in the same world.
Bloggers World is a place where everyone writes grammatical, entertaining, interesting, inspiring prose or poetry. Subjects may cover personal highs and lows, current affairs, beauty, politics, history, spirituality or any other topics which intrigue, amuse, or engage the Blogger. Many Bloggers have a passion which they communicate, or a long running project, like the Camino Trail, getting a book or a play published, running a farm, or reading the Complete Works of Shakespeare. Most people (except me) have a theme which people know to expect when they visit a Blogger’s web-site. And there are also Bloggers who share their wonderful photography, the sort of artistry that I drag into the To Keep box.
Bloggers seem to have common characteristics. They seem to be intelligent, often committed to preserving the environment, devoted to animals and concerned with social justice. They are sincere and witty and have a sense of fun. Bloggers notice and enjoy the small things in life. Many enjoy the good things in life, like food, beauty, flowers, music, gardens, architecture and antiques. They are uniformly courteous, kind, committed to high ideals, and often to spiritual growth. If anyone asks for help, they are swamped with responses from Bloggers who really care. Bloggers are good people.
I wonder if Bloggers are the cutting edge of the wave of the new consciousness that the world needs to move to another level of thought and awareness. It’s awareness and commitment that we need as we step up to the next stage of our civilisation and growth. It’s only by thought that we’ll solve the problems that challenge us to take that next step into the unknown; and it seems to me that Bloggers are the sort of thoughtful people who each take individual responsibility for their corner of the world – themselves. So the Bloggers World is a sort of alternative new world that we inhabit.
Bloggers End: this is a situation that few of us know anything about – much the same as we know little about our passing into the next world. There is little research into the demise of the Blogger. Do she just fade out, obliterate the Blog (how?), just stop clicking on Like, or stop writing the Blog? These are all huge questions that every Blogger will one day face. But until this great unknown state of unconsciousness overtakes us, we don’t know the answers. And will we ever? If Bloggers stop communicating how will we ever know? Will some brave soul send back messages from that other world, that cruel world where people scoff at Bloggers? There are still unsolved riddles even in the great enlightenedWorld of Blogging.
( Bloggers Nightmare – a private one, that only unskilled Bloggers would know about. It’s given this Blogger a few nights broken sleep: the fear that she’s letting all the other Bloggers down who’ve nominated her for Awards. Until she masters the medium she’s lagging behind in acknowledging the Awards, fulfilling the conditions, passing on the accolades to other Bloggers, and posting the Awards that demonstrate the encouragement, acceptance and approval of her peers. She’s presumptuously banking on the generosity of Bloggers to bear with her till she gets the hang of it all. She’s also longing to be able to dangle these accolades alongside her Blog)
Food for Threadbare Gourmets
There were two bananas sitting in the fruit bowl in a state of perfect ripeness – just a few brown spots on their golden curves, indicating that they were ready to eat. It seemed a shame not to enjoy them at this peak moment of their prime, so though we rarely have a pudding in the interests of our weight, I couldn’t resist these perfect specimens. It only takes a few minutes to create a delectable banana pudding. I offered my husband a banana split, the banana sliced down the middle, spread with raspberry jam, cream poured over, and a dollop of ice-cream if he wished.
The alternative was my choice, the banana sliced down the middle and then cut in two, gently fried in butter, brown sugar and cream and a tot of Jamaica rum poured into it. This hot concoction served with good quality ice-cream is this blogger’s heaven. My husband went for the first option. I pitied him.
If I was serving this to guests, I would also give them a little crisp biscuit to eat with it, for the sake of texture.
Food for Thought
Sometimes I don’t want to think. I want to laugh. I love this foodie joke from my childhood. It’s anonymous.
I always eat my peas with honey
I’ve done it all my life.
They do taste kind of funny,
But it keeps them on the knife.
valeriedavies 
I wish I had a banana in the house to try your favorite concoction. It sounds wonderful. I’m earmarking one of the next bananas to enter this house for that tasty treat. Enjoyed all your blogging thoughts. You are reading my mind! 🙂
LikeLike
Great to hear from you, and know that great minds think a-like – sometimes!
Enjoy the banana – no point in holding back if you’ve decided to have something sweet, I always think!
LikeLike
Your thoughts reminded me of Ray Bradbury who said: “You fail only if you stop writing.” I love visiting your blog…
LikeLike
Thank you so much , I’ve finally re- discovered your blog ( I’m very slow on the uptake), and am signed up for your fascinating series. Loved your quote from Ray Bradbury… I think writers shrivel up if they stop writing, like a painter just has to paint, a gardener garden, and a musician play!
LikeLike
Well said…
LikeLike
re: bloggers awards.. in the summer I can only say thank you very much you are so kind ( and i really mean it) but i do not have the time for the awards.. my objective is to write a short farm blog every day full of animal pictures and food gardens.. and the summer is busy.. a soap opera without the soap.. and oh yes.. not having the time to read all the wonderful stuff my own readers write is the hardest part.. weekends are gold for this.. SUCH a good post valerie, i am so glad i met you! c
LikeLike
Celi, it’s lovely to see your smiling face, thank you so much for your comments and encouragement – it was my lucky day when you contacted me.
Your blog is exquisite. It puts us back in touch with the rhythms of the earth, the land, the creatures, the weather, the growing things.. a way of life that our ancestors took for granted, and that we can only savour through your blog. So thank you, Celi.
LikeLike
This was pure delight through and through, very creative indeed! sorely true though! My I like that second banana confection mmmmmm,, Love you you, Linda….,
LikeLike
Oh Linda, ;lovely to have your appreciation and good to know you understand!
Yes, everyone seems to go for the second banana idea, we only live once ( or do we?) after all!.
LikeLike
I love your blogging thoughts Valerie. I, like you, have no particular theme to my blog. I thought I did at one point, but now I just ramble. But I love the interaction with new friends I have found on the way and reading other people’s blogs have opened up new ideas and discussions and a whole new support network. It’s amazing and I am addicted. And I love your blog 🙂
LikeLike
I know just what you mean, Dory – blogging is an amazing window into other lives and ideas that are willingly shared, aren’t they? And I love your blog too – you are a noticer, and an enjoyer, I wouldn’t miss your thoughts and blogs. You’ve had some really lovely ones recently. I’ve had that song, he’s my brother, on my mind ever since I read your blog!.
LikeLike
My best friend’s grandfather taught me “I eat my peas with honey . . . ” .
That was a long time ago and I still think of him when I’m presented with peas.
LikeLike
The things that stick in one’s mind! So good to hear from you
LikeLike
What a wonderful thoughtful post, I love all the Blogger titles, especially the first one – that’s me, even if predictable, it’s the total freedom and absence of a schedule or expectation that I so enjoy in writing a blog. So unlike any job.
I love the idea that it might be consciousness raising, it certainly also attracts the voices of many introverts, those with much to contribute who have often been locked in a self-imposed silence. On verra.
LikeLike
Lovely to hear from you..Interesting what you say about a self-imposed silence, even as a writer, I’ve never felt the freedom to write as I wish that a blog offers
LikeLike
love the post and have experienced all of the above…..
LikeLike
Thank you for commenting, So good to hear from you….and fascinating to know that we all feel the same under the skin!
LikeLike
hi valerie-how beautifully you have summed up the bloggers characteristics… and how true too.i enjoy blogging for i feel when one is blogging no one tries to judge you. they love you for the uniqueness you carry within 😉
LikeLike
Great to hear from you. And lovely words from you – that is the joy of blogging,isn’t it? no judgement or criticism. Acceptance – it’s a good feeling, .
LikeLike
I enjoyed your description of Blogging…so accurate. I especially liked “So for me, Bloggers License is being able to choose to write what we want and when we want- unlike the grindstone of journalism.” I have always wanted to write, and had hoped to major in journalism in college, only I never made it to college. As I see what journalism has become, I am thankful that God’s plan led me to blogging. Not only do I get choose to write what I want to, but I have met some wonderful people, no friends. I may never meet you or my fellow bloggers, but your blog notifications brighten up my day like a visit from a friend. Blessings ~ Patty
PS: I do have bananas in the house so may have to get some cream and try your banana split, my daughter recently created hers with peanut butter nothing fancy but ohhh so good! Have a great day!
LikeLike
Yes, with blogging, you feel the world is full of friends and beautiful people, don’t you?
Thank you for your lovely words – and go for the bananas!
LikeLike
I smiled, and nodded, and agreed as I read your post. And who knows where it all leads, it would be fascinating to have a crystal ball. Keep writing, and sharing, we all have different things to give, and we all take different things away with us.
right now I’d take your choice of how to serve banana !
LikeLike
Oh thank you for commenting – and agreeing! And yes, you’re so right, we all have something different to share,
There is obviously going to be a world wise shortage of bananas, judging by Bloggers Response!
LikeLike
Interesting. I think I tend to blog too much. Am trying to cut back. Lately my blogs have been a sort of outline for a book I want to write at a later date.
LikeLike
But they’re always good to write, and keep us up to date with your doings – and your cats! thank you for reading and commenting, Bruce
LikeLike
I’ve experienced EVERY SINGLE ONE of these emotions. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Well, except the state of demise. Great post!
LikeLike
Good to hear from you Robin, thanks for your enthusiasm. I left out one definition : Bloggers Delight: on finding a really perceptive and intelligent response to a post, hearing from a blogger you particularly admire, or finding a comment of such sincerity and goodness that you feel grateful for being in the same world!.
LikeLike
Blogger Delight calls for a post of its own! So true. It is a benefit of blogging I never expected when I started blogging.
LikeLike
A new dictionary…and this one has all our pictures in it under the definitions. Thank you! 😉
LikeLike
Good to hear from you Margarita, thank you for commenting.And good to know that we are indeed all the same under the skin! I left out one definition, which you’ll see in the reply above!
LikeLike
Oh, Valerie, I think that’s a definition of delight worthy of any application!
LikeLike
Thank you for this…Great post!
LikeLike
Good to hear from you, thank you for commenting, and so glad you enjoyed it
LikeLike
Absolutely great post that truly puts the blogging world in its true perspective. When I first heard the word ‘blogger’ I had no clue what it was all about and when I started writing, I had no idea where it would lead. I think I have fallen into all of the aforementioned categories with exception of the Bloggers End, of course. Keep writing, Val! I love your style:>)
What is a BLOGGER? Best Lead On Getting Garbled Energies Revived
LikeLike
Love the Blogger definition! Thank you so much for your enthusiasm, Sharla, that’s what blogging is all about isn’t it, and you’ve been right there for me from almost the beginning. So thank you again. And I love following your lively and inspiring blogs, Valerie
LikeLike
I’m still stuck on the idea of a Blogger’s License.
Would it be issued by the Ministry of Whimsy?
We already provide a photo, better than anything I’ve yet seen
from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Or would we have to demonstrate our capacity
in the Kitchen of the Cosmos?
Or undergo an emotional scan of our Hearts?
Oh, the possibilities!
As for Bloggers End, does one have to return the license?
Or can we hang it on the wall of the barn
next to the Model T?
Thanks for the recipe
and the reminder about bananas.
LikeLike
The banana recipe is fast morphing into a Bloggers Fancy.
For all the rest, it feels like Bloggers Fantasy after an evening away from the Bloggers Grindstone. But click on the In-Box, click on the Stats, click on the likes, and we’re back at the ball, dancing the Bloggers Reel, weaving in and out of other places, other lives – brandishing our Bloggers License which never expires till we do.
Does that answer your question?.
Loved your comment and would love to read your blog, but couldn’t see how to do so from your gravatar
LikeLike
It’s “Jnana’s Red Barn,” jnanahodson.net.
Now, back to the dance …
LikeLike
I liked this post Valerie. I can relate.
Sunni
LikeLike
Thanks Sunni- lovely to connect,
Valerie
LikeLike
You’ve made me smile, nod, and finally laugh with this post.
LikeLike
Oh good! I love laughing myself, and really enjoy thinking I might have made someone else laugh too !!
Thank you for connecting.
LikeLike
Such a beautiful ode to the Blogger. I’m relieved to read it’s not just me with questions and complexes… And congrats on your three months! 🙂
LikeLike
Hello, sweet friend, thank you for commenting.- isn’t it amazing how under the skin, we are not very different from all the other unique people out there! I suppose it’;s what they call our common humanity….
Thank you for the congratulations. I might have a bar of chocolate to celebrate….
LikeLike
I so loved this post!!! You have written what I have felt for some time. I’m so glad you found my blog so I could now have yours.
Excellent, Valerie!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
LikeLike
Pingback: Bloggers’ licence « Homepaddock
Which do you prefer, Valerie, peas on honey or honey on peas.?
How I eat peas is another matter!! I dress in my finest golden armour with the help of my squire. Mount my white horse also decked in gold. My squire hands me my lance of finest woods. Horse and I charge for the plate, my sharply pointed lance pierces a pea. My squire removes the pea from the lance wearing the finest silk glove and places the pea upon a golden platter which he brings to me. The pea rolls off. I haven’t eaten one yet !! So, peas on honey or honey on peas?. “Squire? Bring me the finest honey in the Kingdom”. 🙂
LikeLike
Ralph, I’m just a lowly peasant so I have to be grateful for a few peas and a smear of honey on the knife. But in my next life I am going to be a princess and eat from golden plates too, and ride a milk-white palfrey. And knights in golden armour can joust for my favours, and eat peas.
LikeLike
Valerie. To me thou art a fair maiden to behold…egad!! Squire. We ride. To the Kingdom of New Zealand. (thinks: where the heck is that ? )
Take care. Ralph
LikeLike
Something to blog about, Valerie something indeed! I like the way you portrayed the blogger! Wonderful writing!
LikeLike
Hi Valerie, I think you have covered everything about bloggers and bloggers need to know. I, too, sometimes wonder about the next stage, was happy to read your thoughts on that.
LikeLike
Thanks Amy – it was just a bit of fun! Thank you for commenting, and good to connect.
LikeLike
Pingback: Thanks for Being YOU | Alarna Rose Gray
🙂 haha this is really great and well written, i had never thought so deeply into the blog world like this!!!
LikeLike
Great to hear from you and see the other posts ticked with Like ! Thank you so much. Look forward to reading your blogs, Valerie
LikeLike
so help me god – amin 🙂
LikeLike
I’m sure She will !!!!!
LikeLike
This is great! Love your insights…and agree!! Oh, and by the way, I remember that little ditty/poem! 🙂
LikeLike
Good to hear from you – glad you enjoyed my bit of fun! and the ditty!!!
LikeLike
This blog post is awesome, although I can’t ever imagine stopping blogging. I think I will have to put in my will that I would want someone to tell my blogger friends that I can no longer do it. (Then hopefully they would be tempted to take it over, one they see how lovely bloggers can be and the joy they can receive in communicating with people from all over the globe.) I have certainly got the blogging bug and it’s a good bug to have.
LikeLike
Yes, isn’t it funny, how one wonders about those things – how will they ever know, sort of thing!
So glad you enjoyed the blog, and thank you so much for commenting
LikeLike
Me too. I wonder to whom I should leave my science blog, and the personal one I have on another site. Previous generations might leave written correspondence but what we have to leave is mostly floating around in cyperspace.
LikeLike
These thoughts are sublime! Thanks so much for connecting with me, I’m a new fan.
LikeLike
Great to connect, and thank you for your enthusiasm! I’ll be looking forward to reading you too, Valerie
LikeLike