Privacy, or lack thereof...

So blogging and writing and posting, that's all fine and dandy. Putting thoughts to paper, or screen in this case, is a great way to order the mind and ease a bit of the daily stress. For many people, writing daily in a diary or journal has been a rite of passage, a process of growth or personal evolution. Well, that may be a bit grandiose; I know of a few people who write what they do every day just so that they can recall what they did and when because they're memories are so poor.

I recall getting a beautiful blank book as a gift from a very nice lady friend of mine quite a few years ago. This book had a quilt motif associated with it, both on the cover and throughout the pages. I wanted to save the quilting journal for a good purpose, and put it away thinking that a really great opportunity would present itself to me someday. Many years later I found this book after it had been jammed in the back of a drawer, ruined by being stuffed and tumbled by years of sewing and quilting supplies been overstuffed in that same drawer. It occurred to me - this was not the prime purpose I'd been saving this quilting journal for.

My mother always read Ann Landers, the advice columnist. Dear Abby was another columnist in a different newspaper we received over the years. I don't remember who said this, but one of them published a column about a woman who had always saved things "for good," never using them for herself or her family. After she lost her husband she realized he was the best she ever had; all the years of saving the best table clothes and china and clothing were wasted because the person she wanted to share these things with the most was gone. That has always stuck with me... Therefore, I blame "Ann" and "Abby" for my house never having anything fancy or nice!! LOL! Everything gets used for us - daily. If we don't deserve it, who the heck does?

What does this have to do with privacy? Well, when you think about writing or blogging or journalling, you're spilling your guts - the intimate parts of your soul that many times you really don't want to share but are truly good to share because of the cleansing action it performs. The problem is, who do you share this with?

Have a chat with a friend and share some of these "issues"? Nopers! Can of Worms! Talk to your spouse/significant other? Well, sometimes these issue revolve around your spouse or significant other. Therapist? Sure...got a couple of months? YEARS?? And that much money? Cuz most insurance plans nowadays don't cover that much mental health care! There are options, but here's a clue - write a blog.

But that begs the questions of who is reading the blog and what kind of gut spilling does one actually put into said blog. I know there are people I would NEVER want to read some of the things I'm thinking! Nor would I write them!

So where does the line between the want and need to illustrate yourself, to share, to have a semi-anonymous chance at cathartic self rumination and the issues of privacy become blurred? AND, more importantly, how does one overcome this sticky wicket?

I don't think there are any easy answers. Anything that one posts on the internet is public and free game to everyone, everywhere. Illusions of privacy become moot. But what then of the need for publishing the written word? Somehow, there is a thrill of seeing one's own thoughts posted on a public forum, but how can any illusion of privacy be maintained if the need for total inner revelation is to take place? Seems like this may be why normal people write in journals and lock them up to maintain their private thoughts. Perhaps blogger who worry about privacy issues should regress to the real rather than virtual written word.

Nah, don't think so! My audience will miss me!!