It's "MY" content

I was stumbling around through "Blogland" last night.   Not sure why, or for what.   It started because I was listening to a podcast in my car from Quilter in the Gap and was looking for her show notes.  She said in her recent podcast "Episode 8" that she was going to link to some other quilting podcasts that she listens to and I wanted to see if she found any I haven't subscribed to!  And of course offer up MY favs if she didn't know about them.  Through one of the comments posted in her episode, I wandered over to meet "Giles" because he mentioned he was also in Upstate NY.  I'm fascinated by male quilters, so I had to click on over.    You can follow HIS journey here:  Touch and Sew  After that, I headed over to my Google Reader to check out what's going on with all the other blogs I follow.

(**Commercial Break**)  If you don't know what Google Reader is - here's a homework assignment you MUST complete.   It is my favorite way to track all the blogs I've been reading.  You add the blogs you want to follow.  It's one stop shopping for "blogland" without cluttering up your email inbox. 

Go to www.google.com, click the little "MORE" drop-down and choose READER

(** Back to our regularly scheduled blog post **)  So then, I'm skimming through the posts looking for something interesting....  I saw one with big bold letters:    WHY DO YOU QUILT?!?   Since I was in a self-reflection mood...this landed me here: Money & Joy of Quilting   I found this post to be very honest and genuine.   I'm proud of her for taking a moment to self-reflect.    My followers know that I've had those days.  Especially in my Operation Downsize: Part 1 post.  I do plan on going back to her post, reading it again and responding so that she knows that I find HUGE value to self-reflection in blog land.   Anyway.....from there...I was reading through the responses to her post (I personally find HUGE value to reader's responses just as much as the blog) and ended up here:

Hugh MacLeod - It's not My content

Here's where my thoughts took off for the evening.  Now I have to say, I didn't have a clue who Hugh MacLeod was before last night, nor do I know much about him now.  I know that he is a cartoonist and likes to write and self-reflect.  But from reading this particular post, I can tell he's frustrated with how much time Social Networking steals from his life, and essentially he's stealing it back.    I get it.   He might change his mind later, who knows.   What I found MOST fascinating, was the 104 replies to his post, and some of his responses to those replies.    It was so interesting to me to literally feel and hear his thought processes as he reads these responses.   LOVING blogging....have I mentioned?    If any of my posts ever get you thinking...please please PLEASE respond, email me privately if you don't want to post.   But seriously....I think that's WHY we blog!   I didn't know what it was for, or what I was going to do with it when I started, but it is definitely bringing me an inner strength and peace that I had no idea would happen when I started.  Ok...back to my point...

Earlier in the day, I listened to Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski - I just love Mark.  He's the "inner me".  HA!   He's outrageous, enthusiastic, totally LACKS a filter, and very very genuine.   I LOVE genuine people.   You never have to wonder what they are thinking.   You never have to self-reflect on "What do they mean by that".   His thoughts roll so fast from his head to his mouth that it's just a joy to listen to him.   I don't know if it was this weeks show or last weeks that I listened to, but he had a guest on the show that he found just by surfing the net.   He zoomed in on the title of something she wrote.  "Don't be a "me too" artist - be yourself"   Or something along those lines.  I can't find the show notes at the moment.    This statement also reached out to me, so it was already on my mind when I found the Money & Joy of Quilting post and then It's not my content post.  Ok ...back to my point...AGAIN.. HA  Feeling a little ADD at the moment...channels flipping and what not..

My POINT.... is that all of the above were the influences on my internal thoughts today.   I've found myself lately thinking of ways to "drive traffic", and whether or not to start "Art Journaling", and what should I talk about next that others will be interested in, and where is the "Quilting Revolution" really taking me, and where do I want it to take me....blah blah blah.   I didn't even realize, that just like Hugh MacLeod and Mark Lipinski, and Leah - from the Free Motion Quilting Project - that all these thoughts are doing is making "ME" get lost.    It is about "ME" after all right?    We only get one lifetime, and we never know where that lifetime is going to go, or how long it's going to GO for...  So I definitely want to stay in the NOW with my blog, I want to stay in MY head and not divert myself from the things that interest ME the most.   I am a Leo - Leo's are leaders...not followers.   I do solemnly swear to myself that while my life is filled with people that inspire me....I am not them, nor do I want to be them.    I'm excited, and happy and fulfilled with ME....and I need to stay true to that.   This post isn't for you....it's for me.   To remind myself how this feeling today came about in case I need a reminder down the road.   It's not YOUR content....It's MINE!   And that makes me happy!