Been thinking a lot about blogging lately, in between work, that is... Mostly, its dawned on me that I blog less and less over the years and I finally got around to wondering why.

Not surprisingly, I don't journal like I used to when I was younger either. It isn't that I don't think about it often enough, especially when something fairly significant happens - but I just don't seem to do it. The inevitable next question is, are the two things somehow, related?

At first blush, it would seem so. Blogging and journaling basically being the equivalent of 'bearing one's soul. Yet, one is a public forum, the other is more private. What does it mean when bearing the soul in either way is abandoned?

There have been literally millions of words devoted to the topic of blogging - most especially now when Twitter has become so popular. Ironically, those millions of words probably came in the form of blogs because 140 characters at a time would not provide the depth required to complete a thought! Most of the posts don't really touch on the journaling aspect of the issue.

Personally, I found over the years that the journaling I was doing was mostly 'complaining' and ceased to be useful. I'd journal when I was upset or angry and use the medium to vent. The blogging I've done started out about political matters, mostly. Usually when George W. Bush was in office. Come to think about it, that also was a matter of 'complaining' too. I wasn't very happy with President Bush - from the beginning - it was a damned long 8 years...

Now, my life is necessarily consumed with work. Aside from being too busy to do anything else, for the most part, the complaining aspect of writing really does no good. It may feel good to vent in the moment, but after a while, it just gets tedious, especially for the person doing the complaining - not to mention the poor souls reading the vent. 'Oh, for God's Sake, just get over it!!!' Sound familiar?

So, now I have to ask, what do I need to do to write more and write more constructively? I considered the 'daily diary' format for blogging - but to me my life isn't that interesting - and frankly, after working 12 hour days I have trouble stringing two logical words together, much less a riveting account of my day.

That leaves the occasional post when it suits me. That requires that I pay careful attention to things that make me happy. The website that makes me laugh, the funny photo, anything that uplifts. Because, after all, hopefully others will read the posts too. And, don't I have a moral duty to bring a smile to people who bother to read my work, rather than bring them down? It is a simple concept, but an important one.