posted by KWiz on Blogging, Personal Development, Writing

“There’s no vaccine for it.
It will spread until it reaches epidemic proportions.
It has already consumed my mind, time, and family.
Each time I breathe I exhale blog dust.”
–quote by KWiz’s husband

Indeed, I’ve caught the “blog bug,” and it is vicious.  Since I started my blog in November 2006, I haven’t been able to stop.  I’ve researched themes, definitions, RSS, trackback, permalinks.  I’ve edited code.  I know the general purpose for CSS files.  I’m learning how to find other folks’ blogs who have similar interests as mine and participate in their conversations.  It’s fun to read what other people have to say, to read those wonderful things they have to contribute to the world.

One post I came upon in my research was entitled “Unsuspecting Secrets to Fast Blogging Success” by Wendy Piersall at eMoms At Home.  What I enjoyed about this article is Wendy’s sense that blogging is really about vocation and calling (this is my interpretation of her post), but in order to discover that sense of vocation, you must ask yourself, “What is your ultimate purpose in life?  What do you love to do?”  (She includes many more questions with which to examine yourself and your life)  Ultimately, you must “Blog with a higher purpose in mind” understanding that what you say to the blogosphere really is about inspiring others to become better people and helping people achieve their own dreams. I do believe everyone has purpose; we need to help each other understand, move toward, and meet up with that purpose.

Nevertheless, while you may discover your purpose, it isn’t always easy living it out. In fact, it can be quite a bit of work and can take a good bit of time. Darren Rowse talks about this at ProBlogger in his post “5 Prerequisites to Blogging Success.”  I love his work, because he is so incredibly generous about sharing the nuts and bolts of being successful at blogging to the point where people in the blogosphere actually are interested in what you have to say. I am trying to incorporate some of his tips into my efforts because there are a lot of women out there who have much wisdom, discernment and understanding in many areas of life. I believe I have a venue through which we can all share that wisdom with each other.

Nevertheless, as Darren says in his post, it’s not just the blog setup, the theme selection, or any of the technical issues that can become time consuming; it’s the actual writing activity that can take over your life (my interpretation). Indeed, writing posts has taken a great deal of time for me (I am thankful that my husband has been so incredibly supportive of me and my efforts); but it is time that I enjoy immensely.

So even if there was a vaccine, I would decline it. I’ll let it consume me (of course, there are boundaries to establish). I’ll dig myself into the trenches.

And I’ll enjoy inhaling that blog dust!