WOW! As I sit down to Blog this Morning I can't help but notice that I have hit an Awesome Milestone of having 500 Loyal Supporters of my Blog... Thank You my Friends!!! I'm Flattered and Honored that my Virtual Happy Place has been Received so well and you Enjoy Visiting me, spending some of your Precious Time here!
I don't take that lightly... Time is a Valuable Commodity to us all... and you could be anyplace, doing anything, but you're here and that means a lot to me. It has made me take Blogging more Seriously than I Initially Planned... because you see, when I began my Blog Journal & Journey I did it Exclusively for myself. It was Cathartic and another Artistic Outlet that fed my Soul and relieved Stress because it was my Zen Place to Retreat to each day.
Lord knows it still is & I never want that aspect of it to change, however, in the beginning I was a lot more Selfish with it because it was MINE... ALL MINE! *Winks* I only took Images of what Inspired and Intrigued ME... and wrote about what I Felt or was Interested in Exclusively, because I didn't really need to Consider anyone else when I Imagined I was the only one here! *Smiles*
But then you began coming... like Welcome Guests to my Home... and I wanted to Receive you as such and have this be more Inviting than just to focus on myself & my needs. After all, when you're Hosting someone at your Place, you don't Ignore them and once an Introduction has been made and you begin to Cultivate Relationships and Share Time Together, well, you would Enjoy and like for them to come back again sometime. Once others began showing an Interest in what I was Sharing here it became more than just all about me! *Winks*
And so the Evolution of Bohemian Valhalla began as I started to look at my World through Fresh Eyes... not just Seeing and Noticing what I was Captivated by or needed to say... but also what you might Enjoy me Sharing with you as well... both in Visuals and Written Content.
It really has helped me to Appreciate everything in my World all the more... since I began to realize all that I have been Blessed with... in myself, my Family, my Relationships, my Home and my Community. With each Uplifting and Complimentary Comment of yours towards the Content of each Post I was Encouraged and seeing my World as you were seeing it. You see, sometimes we get so Familiar with what we have in Life that we start taking it all for Granted and fail to SEE with that depth and objectiveness until we are Reminded by others! And I also began to realize that I wasn't the only one getting something out of this... apparently you were too!
And though it took me a while to Feel less Vulnerable and Keep it TOTALLY Real here... since I tend to not want to be an Open Book and we all like to have a certain amount of Illusion about Stuff & only Reveal that which is Good and Flattering about ourselves and our World... *Winks* ... I decided I didn't want to be so Selective that I Appeared less than Real once I knew others were taking my little Bloggy Place Seriously! So sometimes you will see and hear the Imperfections & Weaknesses of my Life... on Purpose... so that you can Relate and not Imagine it's all Gumdrops & Rainbows in my Life & Home either. *LOL*
Because Lord Have Mercy we can do that can't we?! Imagine that everyone else has it more Together or better off than we do. Put others on a pedestal and be harder & Critical on Self than we probably ever would with someone else! Most especially in the Virtual World... Forgetting that this can be Edited, Photoshopped, Filtered and Fluffed to such an extent that it's not always TOTALLY Real. We can sometimes begin to feel Insecure when Everyone Elses Homes, Relationships and Lives look so much more Ideal in the Blog Posts than ours do in Real Life. As if they don't have dirty laundry too! *LOL* We can Imagine so much that has no real basis on Reality.
We often fail to Remember that we're all usually Photographing and Writing about those parts we like or take Pride in Primarily and even Editing THAT... and leaving out what isn't so Flattering or we'd be Embarrassed for our Guests to see or know... well, until they become FRIENDS and like Extended FAMILY that is.
Because our Family and Friends KNOW US don't they? Anyone whose Invested Time with us... there is no Illusion, or very little, or even a need to put on a protective Facade, about who we really are and what we're really like and about. We Share more of ourselves with those who are Supporters of all that we are and Celebrate us... and that's why I prefer to call you all Supporters of my Blog and not Members. This is not an Exclusive Club and anyone and everyone is Welcome if you come in the right Spirit.
And there is a Peace, a Comfort and an Effortlessness in such Relationships and those are the only Relationships I'm interested in Cultivating & Nurturing anyway. I LOVE my Family and my Friends... and I Enjoy People in general, unless they're Fake or Mean Spirited on Purpose. And I wanted to Impart that Important aspect in my Virtual World as well once I knew I was going to be doing this often & folks would show up, often regularly.
One cannot put up Appearances and not Be Real for long anyway, it would be far too much Work and I'm Lazy... I Confess... what you see with me is what you get... the Good, the Bad and the Ugly! *Winks* I want the Mood here to be as if we're actually Together in Person and that takes a certain amount of Transparency & Trust to let Someone in that Close and be more Intimate. But hey, if you're spending your Precious Time to Show Up then you Deserve that much Respect while you're in the House! And sometimes you ARE literally IN the House, dust bunnies, Chaos, Clutter and all! *LOL*
But we who Blog chose to make this part of ourselves Public... and you chose to come... and to Connect... all 500 Supporters and the occassional Guests as well... WOW! That blows my mind sometimes... it wasn't an Expectation I had when I embarked upon entering The Wonderful Land Of Blog and it took some getting used to actually. Especially when Serendipity would have it that we'd sometimes bump into each other in Real Life and you already KNEW me, through my Blog Posts... and so offline Friendship just became absolutely Effortless and a Natural Progression... like Penpals who have Corresponded for a long time.
I don't Believe the Kindred Spirit Thing is overdone, particularly when it comes to Blogging... because Truly, like minded People & Kindred Spirits do Gravitate towards each other and Connect as if by Magic and that's Beautiful & Exciting!
The Virtual World is so vast that I cannot Believe otherwise... I mean, what ARE the odds that you would just Happen to Find me here and Show Up except by Divine Appointment or 'coincidence' if you will? I have no other Explanation really... but I am so Glad that we have now met.
And though I never want to get caught up in the 'Numbers' of Supporters, Comments, Feedback, etc...so that it becomes a Big Deal to me, because it would be too much Pressure and probably Overwhelm me completely and/or inflate my Ego to an unlovely degree *LOL*... as well as negate the Real Purpose and Reason I began Blogging in the first place... I do take Note and try to be Considerate to all that Come and spend Time here.
Though I won't compromise who I am and what I'm about just to Please anyone or do what might be Popular or Expected, I do take to Heart some Suggestions to make it more Appealing and Improve my Blog... for myself and for you who come to Enjoy it. I found ways to Improve the Quality & Skill of Photography & have had so much Fun learning to Edit & Photoshop what has been Captured through the Eye of my Lens. It is an Art Form I'm now totally Sold Out on and will be a Lifetime Passion!
Constructive Criticism on Content is Welcome and something I do Contemplate the Possibilities of. I am however a Natural Born Storyteller... with my Heritage its in the Blood... and I Love to Write & Talk... I'm also VERY Visual... so I know my Written Content often breaks all the alleged 'Rules' of Blogging... as well as Imagery Saturation. *LOL* I've been known to be a Rule Breaker so I'm totally Okay with stepping outside the Box and Boundaries established anywhere. *Winks*
But I've tried to temper my propensity to go long on occassion with the Rare Short Post just to Balance things out and see if I could actually manage to do it! *Smiles* Clearly this is definitely NOT one of those occassions! *Bwahaha* I'm not very good at it... any more than I'm good at doing the "Less Is More" Thing in Real Life... sorry! *Smiles*
Just know that I'm not the least bit offended or concerned if you read or look at none of it... parts of it... or all of it... if you Comment or just Quietly & Anonymously Visit... you're here to Enjoy yourselves, hopefully as much as I've Enjoyed bringing it to Life on these pages & Posts?
So whatever Works for you is Okay, I just Hope you've been Inspired, Uplifted and felt Welcome & Appreciated? I Hope it's been as Comfortable as a Visit to a Friend's Home or going Shopping or on Adventures along with them? If you have then it's done it's Job and Served it's Purpose for you and for me... this is merely a Tool to be Used and Enjoyed.
Do you know how much Fun I had just Wandering around the House Capturing the Images to Share in Today's Post? And I'm at the Comfort Level now that I don't even feel the need to Prep or Dust beforehand or offer any Apologies, just like I wouldn't if Family or Friends were coming over! *Smiles*
Just Capturing Moments in Time in my Real Life and the Filters & Experiences that I see it through. And that is what it's all about for me... the JOY of it all... of LIFE! The Freedom and the meeting of New Friends and being Inspired by and for each other! The Creativity and Personal Expression it allows so Freely... and the Sharing of it and of myself.
You've been there with me as I've Shopped... gone Junquing... Revealed 'Scores'... Opened new Biz Ventures... Covered and Attended Events or Activities... spent time with Family & other Friends... Vented... Mused... Celebrated... and sometimes had Sorrows or Trials.
And Today I Especially wanted to Offer my Gratitude... after Noticing that I'd hit a Milestone of 500 Loyal Supporters I no longer felt the least bit Isolated by the fact that so many of our Loved Ones and Friends have Passed, Moved Away or Lost Touch as Time marches on.
Or that I don't get to Connect in Person as much as I'd like to with those that are still Local. I do find that as you get Older & Experience Limitations of all sorts, it can be more Challenging to get out into the World in the way that you might have been Accustomed to in Youth or when you have the Luxury of more Free Time & Resources to Socialize and be Entertained.
And The Land Of Blog has often filled the Void that has been left in the wake of such things... a place where Generosity, Encouragement, Friendship, Creativity and Sharing ABOUNDS and Overflows into the Lives of Others... and I REALLY, REALLY Love that about this Place... and YOU my Friends!
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian