One of the things I really enjoy is debating. People who know me know I will discuss on and on and on. I want to understand how someone else sees the world. So I love the comments and questions of a good conversation.

When I opened my website to do tonight’s blog I found some comments waiting for me. It’s funny how sometimes the comments form a thread of their own. So I have decided to share a couple of the comments – from Emma and Paul – because my reply was inspired by thinking about what both of them said.

Dear Annie,
It was great chatting with you. I hope we can talk next week some more about what you do and what I do, and how we can mesh that together perhaps in a new blogging challenge.
I find it extremely difficult to write on daily basis under my own pressure to complete whatever I set out to do.
The group challenges help with the support and a lot more. I met so many friends from different walks of life on Bradley’s 30 Day Content Challenge.
Today, as we approach Thanksgiving in the USA, I am grateful for the challenge and the people that I have met; like you Annie. You have enriched my life and you have fueled my inspiration.
You are my moral support when I struggle to write and that is not even having a writer’s block.
It feels like a huge commitment putting your thoughts out, but it is important to keep on doing that.
I keep telling my husband that 100 years from now we will be known as a generation of bloggers and posters and texters…and on and on.
Maybe there is a benefit to all of this that I fail to see immediately as I am bombarded by materialism from all sides.
More later. Thank you, Annie for writing.
Emma

Hi Emma, thank you for commenting so honestly about writers block and the purpose of blogs. I believe that the internet has opened us up to the opportunity to listen to new voices and be exposed to new ideas. Learning about each other through our blogs removes the idea of us and them. It shows us that people the world over have the same issues and concerns. The skill is in putting out your authentic voice. And in being able to screen the endless chatter by locking in on those voices that feel authentic. I skip blogs where the subject matter is false, selling me something or shouting out ‘look at me’. Because there are some fab bloggers who tell it how it is for them. They make me think. They make me feel. I open my mind and discover interesting stories. That’s why a blogging challenge is such a good idea. Those who might not have a voice get a voice. Those who are struggling might feel inspired. And those who find their true voice can help us change minds, which changes hearts and eventually the world.

Another comment on Peacefully Painting Angels , from Paul, is “it’s very sad to my way of thinking, that creative activities we do naturally as children, are seen as a luxury rather than essential for our Wellbeing.” I agree with Paul. Writing is also such a powerfully creative activity. As children we use our imagination to explore or view the world in a very different way from the way adults see the world. As we fit into the social framework we stop looking at the world as a magical place full of possibilities. We end up in a world of rules and fear. Yet if we can return to writing we are once again allowing ourselves to be creative beings. Journals, blogs, diaries, stories, poems, songs. So many ways to explore both our inner and outer world. To share things with others and help all of us to see that we are inside the Matrix trying to free ourselves and get out. I hope that in a hundred years people see blogging as the beginning of a creative shift. A way of bringing writing back to ordinary people so that they can play, create, inspire. Writing is not about a classic story. It’s about your story. It has value to those who read it and can identify with it or be challenged by it. Who knows what marvellous voices there will be in a hundred years time. But perhaps our efforts to create meaningful communication between each other will be the start of a whole better way of talking to one another.

As always Emma, your comments have given me food for thought ❤️

I enjoy reading your comments. They are our debate. When you find a blog you enjoy, here or on another site, please take the time to comment. If you do you may find that you are taking your first steps into creativity. Into finding your own voice. Who knows – you might even want to join the next blogging challenge ❤️️

Day 373 of my blogging challenge.