Thursday, November 3, 2005

Hobbies

My previous entry seems to have struck a chord. A sweet, strong, harmonic chord with some. A clunker with others.

Just goes to show you what the misuse of one tiny word can do. "Mere." That was the word. "Mere hobbyists." After all, journaling IS a hobby. A hobby to which many of us are passionately dedicated. That little adjective—"mere"—dismissed a whole segment of the journaling community. Myself included, actually. Often, when I start to accuse myself of spending too much time writing journal entries, I think, "Other people knit, or scrapbook, or put together hot rods in their garage in their spare time. I write. It’s a perfectly legitimate thing to do."

But I look at it this way. I love music...have always loved music. I sing all the time. I even played the guitar in my younger days, sang in the church choir for awhile. But I was not given the talent, the zeal, the passion for music that a true musician must possess. I will sing, and I will play guitar, if I darn well want to. It makes me happy. But it doesn’t make me a musician.

Writing, however, is something that bubbles up from a well in the depths of my soul. Something I have to do, as much as eating, sleeping, or going to the bathroom. It’s part of who I am, and who I will always be. There have been times in my life when I didn’t write; crazy, busy times when I did not use my God-given talent for anything more than love letters and birthday cards. In retrospect, those turned out to be the times when I was simply playing at being someone, something, that I am not. I may have even thought I was happy, that I had "made it." But I was not being true to myself. I ignored my talent because it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t always fun. And it didn't put food on the table. Truthfully, if I was still working full-time, I probably would not yet have "rediscovered" myself.

But you can write, and not be a writer. You can write perfectly legitimate, wonderful, worthy things. You can even do it for a living. Many people do, I suspect. I don’t mean to disrespect people who want to use this forum, or any forum, in any way they choose. And I don’t mean to say that the product they produce is somehow inferior because it doesn’t come from the pen of a "writer." If I was sitting on a street corner, playing my guitar and singing my heart out, and someone came up to me and said, "You can’t perform here because you are not a musician," I’d spit in their eye. Please, my j-land "hobbyist" friends, feel free to spit in mine if I ever again dismiss you with a single, poorly chosen word.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Lisa,
    now I get it...writing openly online is my newest hobby :-)  lol!
    no, I think I came across your previous entry at a perfect time where I needed to know where I am going with my online writing. Thank you for stressing to me or reminding me that writing should come from the heart and mind and not from worrying about finding the perfect words.
    Your previous entry was truly a sweet read for me. I love it and I hope that its lessons will stay in my spirit..I'd like to use it as a sort of a reminder to me the reasons I chose to write openly online.
    Thank you for your wonderful journal.
    Take care,
    Gem :-)
    http://journals.aol.com/libragem007/JournallyYours

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  2. Lisa,
    You definitely hit a secret chord within me:) (As Leonard Cohen tells us all too eloquently with his beautifully elegiac  "Hallelujah!")
    I was ready to wrap it all up yesterday, stung by some, ignored by others. In the end the only thing that matters is the enjoyment I derive from spewing out my own bloody soul, even if the entire world gets to see the carcass! Being an open book for the world at large , is certainly not why I began my journal. It was my own personal satisfaction that was derived at understanding through my own written words, the chords that make up the music that are found deep within me, and which keeps me playing!
    Keep up the inspiration, I love it!
    Maryanne
    http://journals.aol.com/globetrotter2u/Myfeelingsarereal/

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  3. I read your last entry and agreed with everything in it. I feel sad when Journalists leave.  And I agree again. Joe is always yelling, "you in there blogging again?" like there is something wrong with it. I do not watch much tv. I don't yell at him, "You watching that idiot box again?"...anyway, where was I? I'm totally entertained by reading other peoples opipions etc. I love writing...about ME! lol. I think it is a way for me to examine things. I am totally addicted to it. I sometimes have nothing to say. So I just stay quiet. Other times, I can't "shut-up".  As I have stated before, reading your jnl. from the beginning has been an experience. You have really found a voice here.

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  4. This just goes to show that I totally missed the MERE in your entry below, and anyway, it doesn't bother me knowing it is there.  I think it's extremely difficult to write and always have everyone understand exactly what you are trying to say.  There will always be one or two who will read what you write and take away from it something totally different than what you intended.  That used to bother me, but I don't care anymore if I see the majority is getting it.

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  5. Merely writing....words.  I got to admit it's hard to tell feeling in writing sometimes.  You could take the first two words I just wrote as sarcastic, humorous, astonishing, a question (without the question mark) etc....I've noticed that with email too.  People often read things into emails and sometimes they don't notice the real emotion that is there...oh yes of course we have all those indicators...?  - !  @  #  %  ^ and on and on, yet to really be sure of the intended meaning you may have to 'hear' the tone of the message.  That's the English language for you.  In any case, it's a choice for the reader and in my opinion reveals something about their character if they are always looking for the mistakes or the negative. As for me, give me the 'out of the box' thoughts,  the 'opportunity' phrases and mostly the 'humorous comments'......wait!  Am I merely being delusional?  Maybe to some and then again maybe I meant to be (hmmm is that possible?)...:)
    Maria  

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  6. Hi! I clicked on your journal because of the titile.  Check out my site, I'm a real newbie.     But then I had to see what all the commotion was about.   Wow-wish I could write like that!  Really stirred people up. I just took a class in communication and they said email is the worst type of communication because of the lack of emotion.  And people miscontrue what you are really saying.  So maybe journaling is kind of like that.  Anyway you have a talent!

    Darlene

    http://journals.aol.com/djohn52/AgeingGracefullyWithAllTheHelpIC/

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  7. Lisa......

    Come on over to my place for a cup of coffee.  


    I love you.  


    I get you.


    Just remember what my mama always says......


    lol

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  8. this forum reintroduced me to writing ...and to myself
    Marti

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