Once upon a time, not so very long ago, on this very same blog, I came up with a weekly feature called “I Comment Therefore I Am” (comma left out intentionally). The purpose of this feature was to write a post comprised of comments I’ve left on other blogs or comments that have been left on mine. It is a way to celebrate the back and forth in the blogging community and also a way to highlight posts that inspired my comments.
I stopped doing this regular feature because it requires quite a bit of work and I have a new baby that requires my attention. My real life baby will always trump my bloggy babies. I didn’t want to abandon my bloggy baby all together, so I gave custody of it to gaelikaa, who has done a wonderful job of tending to and nurturing this brainchild of mine. I intend to periodically join her when time allows and I invite you to visit her post this week.
Here’s what’s been going on in my commenting world…
My bloggy buddy Eva posted a piece that was construed as offensive to those of Muslim faith by one of her readers (I did not read the post in question). What did Eva do? Not only did she apologize and remove the post, she also published the comment that made her reevaluate the original post. We all make mistakes and it’s okay as long as we learn from them. Here’s the comment I left for Eva…
Eva, this makes me want to cry because so few people ever, ever acknowledge that perhaps they have been insensitive. I am so proud of you for not only apologizing, but sharing the comment that made you think twice. I’m sure your intent was not to be insensitive, but sometimes we don’t see things as others do and it is a gift to be able to acknowledge someone else’s perspective without becoming defensive. We should all take a page from your book.
Sara Santiago reminded me that it’s okay to step away from the blog and just do things that I don’t even intend to blog about.
But if I do something and don’t blog about it, did I really do it? I mean if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, who cares?
I’m kidding.
I agree wholeheartedly with you. The funny thing is that when I give myself the liberty to step away from my blog, I find that inspiration strikes. Life is about being present in every moment. If I hear my inner narrator writing a blog post about what I’m doing while I do it, I tell her to shush (but in R rated language). Enjoy whatever it is you are doing.
That’s it for this installment of I Comment Therefore I Am.
Do you give good comment? Wanna play along? Go forth, spread the comment love, and turn it into a post (I keep a draft post open while I read blogs throughout the week). Recycle, reuse, and reduce my friends; it’s the wave of the future.
Oh and feel free to comment on my comments otherwise how will I know that you exist.
If you play along please link back and/or post the button below. Let gaelikaa know and she will link to you in her post. Spread the love, spread the love! You can grab the button code from my sidebar.
Yes, it is a whole lot of work to do the I comment therefore I am……..I’ve tried it but didn’t even make it to making a good post. One of these days, maybe?
It’s so true that when you step away from the blog, life itself will inspire you.
I hope you’re enjoying your sweet little baby!
if a tree falls in the forest – it’s your husband’s fault
You make stepping away from your blog sound like stepping away from the dinner table. Everyone needs good balance in life but I never thought blogging was a fattening activity.
I was so touched by your comment that day; and I’m doubly touched that you chose tp post in on your blog. You are a sweet person. I hope you are enjoying your time with your two little girls. By the way, my photos finally published on my Sundays in my Neck of the Woods post. Blogger finally fixed the glitch that was affecting some of us.
I recently stepped away from my blog for two months. It was liberating. I didn’t feel the need to post and comment. There was no pressure to keep up. Sure, there are a handful of people who were consistent visitors, and now no longer read me or respond to my comments on their blog. It’s as if I offended them for going away. But that’s part of the package of blogging. Since I’m back, I feel refreshed….a new blog look and full of ideas.
As for offending people, I’ve been around long enough that those who know me, know that I would never intentionally say something to offend. However, in an effort to be funny, I have left comments that “I thought” were in humor, but unfortunately were taken out of context, and the reader took offense to it. Then I had to reply to explain what I meant. (Sigh)
Hi, A furry butt sent me in your direction with her post on todays blog. Glad I came and out of curiousity I follow and return again soon 🙂
The funny thing is that when I give myself the liberty to step away from my blog, I find that inspiration strikes. Life is about being present in every moment. If I hear my inner narrator writing a blog post about what I’m doing while I do it, I tell her to shush (but in R rated language). Enjoy whatever it is you are doing.
I’ll often make a mundane moment more interesting by blogging about it mentally and never actually writing it down. Hm… maybe my blogging instinct is too pervasive?
I came over to your blog from Furry Bottoms – I like the comment idea – brilliance!
Mentioned you on my blog today.
I missed Eva’s post too. I’m missing far too many posts nowadays. Thanks for sharing, I’ve been able to go over and comment.
I am so glad you did the feature this week. My Linky account is in a mess, but I’m linking back to this post.
I just had an instance where someone was really insensitive and the conversation went poorly, but because I am a kind and wonderful person, I wrote her a short email and said-sorry if there was a misunderstanding, and told her where I was coming from. Even though I was NOT the one in the wrong, but I wanted her to know that I care if we are on the outs and I wanted to open the door for her to apologize and see how much she sucked.
Unfortunately, she replied back with a very crappy one-liner that went something like: yep, it was a misunderstanding.
Very unsatisfying. I’m ready to write her off….
Great laugh to start the day off! Congrats on POTW!
These are some of my favorite posts of yours. Your comments are when I hear “you” the clearest.
I have found that very same thing, you want to take a step back & BAM that is when you have something to say.
So will the linky be on her blog now or will you still have one here too? I was planning on signing up this week and giving it a shot.
I have never tried doing this, but I have had entire posts that were inspired by fellow bloggers pins on pinterest, and I have linked back to both their blogs and pinterest pages when something they have posted inspired one of my posts. I missed the one with Eva, but I’m sure she didn’t intend to offend anyone, she’s definitely not that kind of person!
Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly