Why Blog?

Why blog? That's the question I've asked myself for some months now prior to actually starting this little dialogue.

I've tried keeping journals once or twice before; sometimes personal journals, and sometimes activity-specific like a surf journal. I've never been terribly diligent about it though, and I think part of that has to do with the media used. As much as I enjoy written communication, I have horrible handwriting and I don't like to keep track of a notebook, so doing this via computer is a better fit. Being pretty anal retentive about spelling also makes this a nice way to go.

Of course, blogging also creates the opportunity to share my thoughts with as many people as find this site, so that makes it a different thing. How personal am I willing to be if the whole world can see this? Will I talk about relationships, feelings, and intensely private experiences, regardless of who might read this or how these things might be interpreted? Will I put pressure on myself to try to be profound and insightful? Or will I just treat it like any other journal and just write what I'm thinking and feeling? I'm not sure of the answer just yet, so time will tell.

For now, I plan to log a couple of things here: Surf sessions and mountain bike rides. I've used www.geoladders.com to track many of my mountain bike rides, but it's an imperfect system since it is primarily about the numbers; distance, time, and elevation climbed. There's not much room there for the talking about the experiences of being in nature, with friends, pushing yourself, and experiencing the world. And a site like geoladders wouldn't have much meaning for surfing since it isn't about anything quantifiable. It's about immersion in nature and the way that the ocean embraces your soul. I hope to use this blog to track some of the more ephemeral aspects of these experiences in whatever feeble way I can.

I guess the bottom line for me is the same as it is for most people: Communication and creativity are needs as fundamental as food and shelter. We have an essential urge to share what we see and feel in order to define ourselves and to make sense of the world around us. That's why I'll write.