A few months ago someone was being especially kind and generous and said that they visited my site as an escape from rest of the crap they found on social media these days. That meant more to me than all the “nice ass” accolades I’ve accrued over the years, and reminded me of an integral reason I keep on writing a blog when they’ve all but gone extinct. This has been a place where I can creatively allow my writing and photography to flourish in unedited, uncensored, and unmitigated glory. It’s messy at times, and unwieldy, and occasionally unsettling, even for me, but for the most part it’s become a place of comfort where memories can be mused upon when they no longer have the power to hurt us, and the frivolous items that occupy one’s entertainment and enjoyment can be highlighted without judgment or harsh criticism.
In recent months especially, this blog has become a place of peace when the rest of the online world implodes with toxicity and unbridled hate. I find myself spending less and less time on FaceBook and Twitter, settling for the quick post-and-run of a promotional link to whatever is up on this blog. I have been avoiding the comments sections more and more, blocking idiots with wild abandon, and mostly setting up shop in this quiet corner where I can relax and breathe and decompress. It is a blessed place to be, and I am sublimely aware of how lucky I am that this is my main concern and worry.
Even as more of us are awakening to the reality of what our country has become, there is still a need for innocuous spaces like this, for pockets of beauty, for glimpses of calm, for escape from all the nastiness that is happening on our social media feeds. It’s the closest thing to disconnecting while still maintaining an outlet for creative expression.
Here, the lilacs still bloom for us.
Here, the music still plays.
Here, the chance for becoming something better looms on the horizon of hope and promise.
Here, we can sit in silence beside one another, as connected as one human being can be to another in such socially-distant times. We will figuratively hold each other’s hand through whatever is yet to come, in a land of virtual hugs and imagined hand-shakes, and I will feel a little bit better for it. If you are reading this, thank you for being here. I’m here with you too.
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