I’ve been blogging for eight years now, a small stretch of time for some bloggers, I know, but for me, those years seem to have covered life-times, and indeed I have actually crossed over into another life-time in those years, thanks to blogging.
Back then I wrote that a friend had queried how truthful my blogs were. Do you have a Bloggers License, she asked?
No, that was exactly how it happened, I answered. I thought about this. I wrote then that after three months of blogging I could see some patterns, and I still feel the same now. Back then I said that as far as I could 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 still 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…
Blogger’s World is a place where most people write 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 the world needs in order to move to the next stage of our civilisation and growth. It’s only by thought and respect that we’ll solve the problems that challenge us to take the next step, and it seems to me that Bloggers are the sort of 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.
This is an addendum, because the first comment which arrived today was from a friend. I had forgotten to mention Bloggers Friendships. I have never met this friend, just as I have never met so many other beautiful friends I’ve met through blogging, one in Canada, another in Cornwall, Arizona and Colorado, Washington and Melbourne, France and Germany, Australia and India, Scotland and Wales, Singapore and South Africa … we’ve shared our lives and our pasts, our children and our memories, our recipes, and deep respect. These connections are one of the most treasured aspects of blogging.
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. Does 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 consciousness 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 the other world, that cruel world where people scoff at Bloggers? There are still unsolved riddles even in the great World of Blogging.
Bloggers Nightmare is the horror of opening the in-box and finding it overflowing with dozens of blogs to read when you’ve neglected Blogging Housekeeping, and have neither read the blogs you follow, answered all the precious comments, acknowledged new followers or likes, and failed to delete the various spam items that creep in.
On the other hand, Bloggers Delight are those wonderful comments, especially those written with such encouragement and appreciation and expression of spirit, that you feel privileged to live in the same world as the writers. This is the bliss of blogging, to know that you’ve been understood, that like minds are on the same journey, and to feel and know the truth of that ancient cliche that birds of a feather flock together, even among five hundred and twelve million bloggers around the world.
In my case, this is a literal truth. An intelligent, sensitive, exquisite soul became a follower, his comments became letters, his letters, skype conversations, and finally, he left his life and country and friends and family and profession, and came to join me in a new life we began in a remote forest. That was nearly five years ago. We are both still blogging, and both living in what could be called Bloggers Bliss!
Food for Gourmets
The painkillers for a bad back have sabotaged any hope of eating, and no-one wants to share a recipe for the thin bland watery soup which is all I am consuming at the moment! (But good for my figure, I hope)
Food for Thought
The world is a like a huge city reflected in a mirror. So too, the universe is a huge reflection of yourself in your own consciousness. Yoga Vasishta, ancient Vedic text, quoted by Dipak Chopra in Synchro Destiny
valeriedavies 
Oh, Valerie, how sweet to see you back just as I get ready to go to bed. I think many of the same things about bloggers that you do and I am so happy that your one special blogger made it all the way over there and it’s also back blogging these days. Joy indeed.
Have a marvelous day and may your pain be in abeyance.
Much love,
janet
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Lovely to find your message, Janet, You are a darling.. I read your comments in his blog naturally, it’s lovely to be in touch… and yes, blogging really adds something extra to our lives doesn’t it… I put another paragraph in thus blog, honouring your comment,
Keep well, much love, Valerie
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How nice of you to add that, Valerie. I’ve made lots of friends via blogging and met a number in person as well, including himself. 😉. I hope to meet more and maybe even make it down your way one day. We shall see.
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Valerie I can so relate to all your blogger categories and how lovely that blogging ended in lovers meeting.
Long may the blogging and the love continue.
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Lovely to read your comment Ele… glad you feel the same about blogging and bloggers !
I corrected the typo, immediately, and then found your next comment!
All fixed!
Keep well, and aren’t we doing well in our precious little country !!!
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Whoops auto correct is dangerous for someone who doesn’t proof read well. That should be blogger categories.
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I can imagine you meeting someone special through blogging. I’ve made a few good friends, some half a world away, through blogging. I’ve also been blogging for about eight years, and also tend not to have a theme, except just to talk about what is special to me. I’m sorry to read about your back pain, and sincerely hope it abates soon. Warmest regards. xx
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Hello Ardys,
good to hear from you… yes, I love your blog, it is so sensitive and authentic precisely because it is about the things that are special to you,
thank you… my back just seems to need time… keep well, aren’t our respective countries doing well coping with these strange times…
love Valerie
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Lovely to see you in my reader again Valerie… I totally feel the same as you write about blogging. How lovely to hear of a love crested through your blogging! And sorry to hear about your back pain❤️ Here’s to us bloggers who dare shine our light and expanded consciousness. Much love to you val x Barbara
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Great to hear from you Barbara, and good to hear you’re keeping your end up in lockdown !!!
Strange times, aren’t they I wonder where they are taking us…
I’m changing my name to Valerie in your comments, as I wouldn’t want the shortened version to catch on with other readers… I struggle to keep my name, especially here in NZ where they automatically shorten every name !!!
Much love to you, and keep well, and shining your lovely light, Valerie XX
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Whoops Valerie, the naughty child giggles at remembering she has done it before… and today she has been playing in many spaces penning the three letters. So so sorry! I’m sure you know I mean no demeanour to you. I must remember when life brings me back to your writing🥰 much love x
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So sorry to learn that your pain is so intractable . Perhaps a change of medication would help. even to improve your appetite .You do need good nutrition to aid healing. How about consulting a homeopath ?
Very best wishes
Shona M.
________________________________
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Dear Shona, what a lovely surprise to hear from you, I hope you are well, and no doubt have many grand-chiildren to enjoy !
Thank you for your concern and suggestions – the trouble is the painkillers which the doctor prescribed but didn’t mention side effects – which are constant nausea and a lot of pain from an inflamed stomach… which I why I can’t eat anything. When I broke my leg I was given tramadol, which took the lining off my stomach so I could hardly eat anything but yogurt and mashed potato for months, so I know what I’m in for !!!
So at the moment its both back and front !!!
Yes, definitely anything and anyone alternative like a homeopath!!!!
Keep well, Love Valerie
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I can relate to these bloggers’ categories. I kept going with my blog from 2011–2017, posting at least every couple of weeks, but then I lost the enthusiasm for writing on my blog. I sometimes think that I’ll re-start it, or start another blog entirely, but for now I’m content to read others’ blogs. Yours is one of my favourites. 🙂
I’ve made friends through blogging (and have met one twice in real life) and other acquaintances too. When I got a new puppy in 2016, one even sent me a gift parcel of dog treats. I was so moved by the simple generosity from someone who I’ve never met.
Sorry to hear that you are still having to take painkillers. I hope that your back heals soon.
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Hello Grace,
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, and apologies for my tardy response, and thank you so much fr your generous comments about my blog. I used to love yours, especially the stories and pics of your adorable cavalier King Charles…I am still envious of him… we can’t have dogs in the forest for the sake of preserving the flightless NZ birds, I miss the companionship of a beloved dog…
Thank you, still u against things as the painkillers backfired in me with effects that will last for months,,, que sera sera !!
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Dear Valerie,
I’ve been blogging about eight years, although the first year I didn’t have much to say. Then came Friday Fictioneers. So many dear friends…forever friends came from it, didn’t they? Friends from all over the world…some I’ve had the joy of meeting face to face and hug to hug. A few I’ve only spoken with through Skype or Messenger. Some of those friends have become and integral part of my life, so much so, I can’t imagine existence without them.
I’m glad you’re upright and up-writing. Sending love and hopes the pain lessens and the need for the horrible medications dissipates.
Much love to you and himself.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hello Rochelle – yes to all that you say about blogging and friendship.!!!..
Alas , not yet upright – very much horizontal – definitely stopped the poisonous medication, so back progress is probably a but slower,,, que sera sera !!!
Much love, Valerie
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How I love waking up and finding your blog in my inbox. Today I have had to wait all day to read and it’s a delight (apart from the fact that you are still hurting. I do hope your watery soup is chicken broth made with the bones to give you rich nourishment if thin. )
On our walk today, I was telling the lovely Mr S that I had your blog to read later and told him the love story that you end with today. Bloggers’ Bliss makes me so happy for you both.
I love all the other categories too and can identify with every one, especially not reading enough. I really must make time. The other category that rang so true was the one about friendship. Sharing others’ lives and thoughts, sometimes fears and worries and ‘being there’ as they say, for each other is a treasure I hadn’t expected to find when I started blogging, also almost eight years ago.
I send you love and gentle hugs across the ether and many healing thoughts. xx
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Dear sally, I was so delighted with your lovely words about my blog – lovely to be appreciated!
Apologies for my tardy response, the medication the doctor gave me, back-fired badly, with long term effects… so am not the best !!!
When one reads ( via Google) the side effects of drugs it feels like being between the devil and the deep blue sea !!!
I love our blogging friendship, and often wish Cornwall was not so far away !
Love, Valerie
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When I saw your blog this morning I smile big! YAY! You are feeling better. Happy Blog Aniversary AND Happy Five Years of Bliss. You are one of those treasured people in my life. I pray that your back heals and you can get back to your everyday living!
Love to you and to that wonderful man in your life!
Linda
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Lovely to hear from you LInda… thank you for your beautiful words …
Hope you’ve got my letter – much love XXXXXXXXXXXX
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I did…a letter coming to you soon! HUGS
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I remember when we first met, Valerie. And the time when I heard your remarkable voice discussing music on a radio program. I loved your life story, which gave breath to my own. I came to blogging in 2010 to find the stories, to explore creativity, to connect with others who are seeking positive outcomes for humanity, our fellow creatures and the world in which we live. I confess I rarely, if ever, look at analytics as I find they are rather dull and confining benchmarks. I recognize that people want to have a place to give voice to their thoughts, with hope that people will listen in validate their efforts. What I learned the most is that listening is a treasured talent that I must continue to explore and expand via an internal journey. My blogs are letters to myself, a way of listening to my heart, my hopes, my joys. In so doing, I am embracing the now, breathing deeply and sharing this world with amazing friends, like you, my dear Valerie.
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Dear Rebecca, what a beautiful comment – I too remember when we first met, and you were doing a wonderful series on those giant Chinese warrior statues… Forgive me for my tardy response, but the pain-killing drugs for the back, back-fired on me badly and I’ve been really ill with long term effects
When one reads ( via Google) the side effects of drugs it feels like being between the devil and the deep blue sea !!!
I tried to leave a comment on your last blog about KIngston on Hull, but couldn’t seem to get there… I loved it – there were so many layers to it..
William Wilberforce is one of my favourite people.. I have several biographies of him, and am always left awed by his commitment and achievements, when he was battling continual ill health and also the doctors remedies of the time… (though my doctor’s remedies seem just as lethal) !!!
I loved his commitment to animals as well as people..your photos were ravishing and I loved the beautiful cup and saucer … my tea tray is always laid with beautiful matching rose-spattered Wedgewood china or blue Spode… the china and silver tea spoons, elegant milk jugs etc seem as important as my favourite lapsang souchong in a silver tea-pot..
.
I have a very early flowered cup and saucer dated circa 1770 – 80. It has a very deep saucer,because apparently people poured the tea from the cup and sipped it in the saucer… which I found fascinating because when I was a little girl my grandmother told me it was very rude to do that in order to cool the tea/hot chocolate. So it was the usual progression – the working classes began to copy what their so-called betters did, and so their so-called betters stopped doing it and stigmatised it as non-u !!!
Well, that was a long ramble, but to end, I will say how much I value our friendship – a bloggers delight !’
Love Valerie xxx
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You have been in my thoughts and prayers as I know that you have had issues with pain. Your journey is not for the faint of heart. I am so very sorry to hear that there will be long term effects. Please take care of yourself. Throughout our years together, you have been a source of light, much like a lighthouse reaching out over the sea. I share your appreciation for William Wilberforce and had to visit the city which he served so well. I appreciated his thoughts on morality and religion especially: “What a difference it would be if our system of morality were based on the Bible instead of the standards devised by cultural Christians.” Can you imagine how that phrase was anathema – fighting words indeed. Yikes! I have been reading up on the 22 men (including William) who started the RSPCA. We have big shoes to fill and I’m trying to grow my feet. I love Lapsang Souchong tea – the robust, smoky flavor, sweet. I have just found Russian Caravan tea. Oh, what a treat to have three flavors together. The names oolong, Keemun and Lapsang Souchong, bring to mind the tea caravans that travelled Russia. Thank you for your marvelous message. Much love and many hugs coming your way.
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Liked a hundred times XXXXXXXXXXXX
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I am not a blogger, just a ‘blog standard’ blog reader and I love to see a new post from you Valerie. How wonderful that blogging brought love and these five years of bliss to you. One day I hope we blogees can read a little more of the story of your Blog-romance because it sounds absolutely fascinating and heart-warming. Of course, I understand that privacy is crucial in this world of invasive social media! Meantime, I do hope your poor back improves; it can be so depressing living on a limited diet. I miss your wonderful recipes too, many of which have been saved in a folder called Valerie Davies’ Recipes.
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Dear Elly, what a lovely comment, I’m so grateful that you Are a blog reader, and come to my blog ! And I love your term ‘blogees’,,delicious!!
I was so chuffed that you have a folder with my recipes – what a bouquet! There will be some more coming!
Forgive me for my tardy response, but the pain-killing drugs for the back, back-fired on me badly and I’ve been really ill with long term effects…
Love Valerie
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Hi Valerie
I’m another eight year veteran. I love your blog. So many great stories. I hope you feel better.
Kathleen
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Hello Kathleen, Thank you for your lovely comment – I’ve been a long time fan of your intriguing blog too… always love to see you pop up here,
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Darest Valerie, you are in my healing book and prayers. xXx This is such a thoughtful and accurate post. You helped to make me feel better, as I have been drowning in emails with blog posts. So many feeling the need to express themselves through the written word. I have developed a method, where I choose a few to read properly and comment on and I have to delete the rest. I am trying to work and have found it all a bit overwhelming. Thank you for your insights and support. You are lovely. xx ❤
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Dearest Jane, I always love to see your sweet smiling face and cap of beautiful auburn hair … I hope you’re feeling less overwhelmed by now … ‘work’ – what are you doing ?
And yes, I so understand that despair as the unread blogs pile up!
And I feel honoured that my blog is one of the ones you find time to read,
Thank you both for your lovely words of encouragement, and for your prayers, you and your blog exude such goodness and love,
With love,, Valerie
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So sorry for the late reply, Valerie. I didn’t get a notification! I have also been moving home and that has proved to be a challenge in these times. All done now.
I hope your back is easing and you are not in too much pain? You are I’m my healing prayers every day. ❤️
Work wise, I am writing for clients to help promote their goods and services and also, I am starting to do spirit led readings again.
I am sending much love to you both, always. Xxxx ❤️❤️
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Jane, I didn’t feel any angst at not hearing from you – I knew you were moving house, and I knew you’d be busy… love to hear that you’re doing spirit readings again… if I was nearer, I’d come and ask for one too!
Have you ever thought of writing people”s lives for them.. my son once suggested to me, that many people in retirement homes love the idea of having a record of their lives to give to their family… it sounded quite a lucrative idea… and a good cause !!!
Hope you love your new home
Thank you for your love and prayers, much love, Valerie XXX
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Thank you, Valerie. I hope your back is easing? i loved your letter to your grandson and will go and comment when I have finished on here.
There is a company in London called Story Terrace who are getting people’s life stories written and it’s a loving thing to do.
I am loving my new home and finding my flow here.
Sending you both much love and loving energy. ❤ xXx
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I loved this, Valerie, so detailed and thoughtful and fun! It captures so much of what I would find hard to articulate about blogging (believe it or not ;>)) Birds of a feather do indeed flock together and I’ve learned this with blogging. Long may your own ‘bloggers bliss’ together continue :>)
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