Blip Together #3

A photo can speak volumes......

A conversation can move mountains......

but the written word is priceless. It is forever.


This is how I have been feeling lately about my journaling. Before blipfoto, I would have told you that I didn't enjoy to write. I didn't like the pressure. I felt as if I was staring at a blank page. I never knew that I would soon become inspired by the written word. Inspired and in awe that I would be finding another passion in life.

Throughout all of my many years of schooling, writing was a chore. There was always a deadline. The topic was usually chosen for me and endless amounts of research had to be completed before getting that "A" on the top of the page with a red pen. My motivation was always for the "A". Never did I truly feel inspired to write.

As of lately, writing has become a reflection of my creative side. My thoughts and my reflections about life, people, and events. Writing has helped me organize my thoughts and has given me a platform to express my opinions. But I only write for myself. I am taking the time to write my journal entries because it is something that feels really therapeutic for me. It is a way for me to express my thoughts on a daily basis. It is my hope that someday, my children will appreciate my written words and use my journals as a way of learning more about me and maybe more about themselves through me. The real me.

It makes me laugh when I think about how "deep" my journal entries get. How I can write and write and write about topics that I feel very passionately about, yet I don't really talk much about. I want to talk about these things, but I don't walk around everyday spouting "deep thoughts" to everyone and anyone who will listen. I save my deeper conversations for the people who ask. The people who ask because they really want to know more about me. The people who care get a little preview of the thoughts and feelings that I write about.

I am not an eloquent speaker. I am very far from. I have never been comfortable with public speaking and it wasn't until my Master's program that I overcame my fear of speaking in front of large groups of people. The way I talk is different than the way I write in that I just speak from my mind when I talk without taking the time to organize my thoughts, use big fancy words, etc. I just talk from my heart and when I do that, I tend to talk fast and have even been known to make words up. Everyone knows what I mean. It is a long standing joke in my family. But that is me. I might say a word wrong but it shouldn't get in the way of someone listening to what it is that I have to say.

When I do get corrected too often or called out in front of a group, it makes me nervous. It just makes me want to stop talking altogether because obviously the listener is no longer interested in what it is that I am trying to say. They are more concerned with how I am saying it. If I know that I am talking to someone like this, I tend to mess up my words even more because I am not comfortable. But when I get to really speak from my heart and my listener is truly engaged and interested, then it just comes easy. This is when my spoken words flow. This is when I wear my heart on my sleeve because I know that I am not being judged, I am being supported. I am so fortunate to have so many "listeners" in my corner. Friends and family who want to know me any which way I decide to communicate. Whether it be by conversation, journaling, photography, art....whatever the outlet may be.

I am happy to have found writing. Writing means something to me. Like I mentioned earlier, I want it to mean something to my precious little sweethearts when they grow up and enter into adulthood. It is a way for me to make a lasting mark in this world.....long after my time has gone. I hope to continue to be inspired with writing, as much as I have been with my photography. This outlet helps me to tie up loose ends that have been floating around in my mind.

Today's blip is a "bliptogether" photo of my fantastic husband. Someone who has brought so much depth, love, and inspiration to my life. He is my "listener". He listens to me. He does not judge me. He laughs at my funny stories. He takes the time when I have something to say. I thank God everyday for him. For his compassion. His patience. His devotion. I thought that it was very fitting for me to blip him today because he is one person on this planet who really understands me. Because he listens.