So today, Lucy and I sat at the kitchen table and hammered out our 2021 budget. There was the usual: did you pay this or that? Yes, no, let me do that now.
Then came the dreaded cuts. Especially in light of the news, I got last month. If I don’t find a job comparable to what I making now, we’ll need to make some cuts. You might as well start now. Not out of lack of confidence, mind you, but being practicable. Going down the list, this blog came up.
“What about Squarespace,” Lucy asks.
“That’s my blog,” I said.
I pay seventeen dollars a month for this little slice of the net. It’s where I “play” or write down whatever damned thing pops into my head or post photos I’ve taken. It’s my space (no pun intended.)
Like the rest of the world, Lucy doesn’t read my blog. Not because she doesn’t want to, but because I don’t publicize it.
Lucy thought about it for about a millisecond. “Just keep your blog,” she said and moved on. I think secretly, she knows the idea of having a blog will keep me sane.
I was ready to go to the mat for this blog. Maybe give up something else just to keep it. Or make an Oscar-worthy plea as to why I should keep it.
Yes, I know, there’s probably a free service out there I could use, but I’m a firm believer in having some skin in the game.
A couple of years ago, I had a membership to 24 Hour Fitness. I kept it for a year or so, paying fifty dollars a month, but only used it a handful of times. I always promised myself I’d use it. The idea of having a gym membership made me feel healthier. I like having written but don’t like writing. The same goes for working out.
So I keep this blog, promising I’ll keep up with it and write something every day - someday.
The way this blog is going, it’s like that gym membership.
So why do I keep a blog or even consider keeping it?
I’m still a big believer in free expression. The internet is the most Democratic form of expression.
I hate the idea that Facebook or Twitter somehow owns and uses my content. It’s my content, my ideas, and I should own them. I still believe people want to read or engage in ideas, even if they don’t agree with them.
It’s what Jordan Peterson says, “Thus, if you learn to think, through writing, then you will develop a well-organized, efficient mind — and one that is well-founded and certain.”
And that’s my main goal: to be able to think clearly.
I’ve fantasized for years about keeping a proper daily blog about exploring topics that mean something to me.
My note apps, like Bear, are filled with thoughts, ideas, and topics I’d love to write about, but I just don’t post them nearly as much as I’d like.
And paying the seventeen bucks, for me, is a small price to pay.
But it’s nice to have Lucy’s support.
Now, I just have to live up to her confidence to do it.