I am one of those people who grouses that blogging is no more than a narcissistic pursuit, at best an electronic journal which – for some unknown reason – people want others to read. What would motivate me to post thoughts and observations so casually for anyone to share (and judge)? My thoughts are my own, aren’t they? Hard as it is for me to admit, I have begun to believe that this assertion works against me. While I have always had a rich and active interior life, I have valued it to a fault, more often than not keeping “it” to myself. So how do I make this endeavor constructive for me as well as entertaining and informative and hopefully thought provoking for others?

The fact that I don’t know quite what I will write about has also stopped me from ever considering blogging. I kept paper journals for years, scribbling like crazy, every idea or fear or feeling – but of course these notebooks were kept under lock and key (so to speak……I’m not actually that nuts). But as I check in with friends’ blogs, I see the myriad of ways one can approach doing this. Yes, in a way it’s all about the Blogger (me me me!), but there are many ways to go – from simply posting up to date images and information about my work and exhibitions to writing about a book, movie or article that has informed and/or moved me; tracing the evolution of a painting with serialized text and imagery; posting photos and observations while I am traveling, be it to another country or to visit my 93 year old father; reviewing a local art exhibit.
A friend of mine, a realtor in southern California, wrote a unexpected and totally entertaining blog entry about how she found God (in a manner of speaking…) in the mosh pit while accompanying her teen aged daughter to a concert. Who knew? So, anything can happen. and I will try to stay open to whatever comes along – within me and without me (a la the Beatles) - and begs to be written about.

So, thus begins this big experiment from Me, The Reluctant Blogger.