The client, preparing to leave my office, announced that she will be blogging soon. After all, as interesting as her life has been, she owes it to the world to tell her story. She was serious. I started to laugh.
Has she lived an interesting life? Absolutely. She is totally interested. You? You might be bored and are probably apathetic, but she is completely captivated by the storms she has weathered, the dragons she has slain, and the bridges she has crossed. Speaking of bridges, she thinks you are dying to learn which ones she burned and which ones she spared, and why.
The blogosphere is filled with people just like her. Who amongst us hasn’t either overcome great adversity or is prepared to share his/her tales of martyrdom and sorrow? Divorce? Children? Jobs and businesses? We are all the stars of our own limited run movies, surprised at times that our potential audience is too wrapped up in their own productions to admire ours.
This is not to say that there isn’t a place for the autobiographical ramblings of Again? Really? and the blogs of other writers. Whether we are simply entertaining ourselves or, on really good days, a handful of readers, our blogs are a means of self-expression, communication, and venting. My daughter would probably reverse that order if this was just about me. Funny, poignant, possibly insightful, these posts might have some value.
But, my life isn’t that different than yours. And the woman in the first paragraph is more like you than she could ever imagine. The details may be different, such as how long she has been at her job. Or maybe it is how she raised her children. Perhaps it was finding her significant other cavorting with five midgets and a film crew from Jerry Springer (Ok, I clearly made that one up). Whatever, the core issues of acceptance, love, and appreciation color much of who we are.
So in the end we are not that different. Those harrowing experiences may have deeply impacted you, but each of us can match those with the challenges we faced. We have all won some battles by sheer luck and lost wars when we should have been victorious. If you make us laugh, if you make us think, we just might care.
I think blogs are the perfect venue for people, like your client, who talk but don’t listen. When they write on the internet, they can imagine how they’d like me to respond instead of wasting my time in person and ignoring my real response.
My actual friends listen. Some of them even talk!
You’ve got her pegged!
You have the patience of a saint and in your line of work, that’s imperative. There is, however, such a thing as gentle guidance and relevance. Next time, cut her off at the knees — nicely. That, my dear, includes me when I ramble on…
My 10th Grade English teacher made each of us write our own obituary, even though we were only 16 years old at the time. There were no blogs way back then and she was more interested in our grammar. Many of my client’s lives are are like a Hollywood Movie Script that never is read. My profession requires me to listen, much like yours. In spite of the fact that I must knit pick, I have grown to enjoy the yarns.
So far there have been four comments, which means at least four people are interested in your thoughts and feelings.
Put another blog on the fire, whenever you get the urge.
Michael – No Names Please.
Ellen – Your knees are safe with me.
Michael – Lot’s of readers this week. Walked into an office and saw a print out of the last one. Put another blog on the fire! I really like that.