"All words are symbols that represent unspeakable realities. Which is also why words are magical." (Donald Miller tweet)

Friday, December 10, 2010

bloggy friends

It was several years ago now that I started blogging. I wrote a few posts, wondering if I had anything to say. I'm still not sure I have anything to say, but it's fun writing about it.

I've made a few friends along the way, people I've never actually met, but I feel like I know them, in a weird way. Some of them are posted over there on the right ... under "sometimes i read these blogs too". Some people I knew before I started blogging, but I didn't know the virtual you, and it's been kind of cool connecting with you in this space.

There is one blog that I read sometimes that I haven't made public. The writer is a very creative, passionate soul who blogs about his life and his struggles with mental illness, with an incredibly courageous amount of honesty. I appreciate his willingness to share it, although I don't comment very often. Others comment, sometimes lacking in kindness, sometimes overflowing with unsolicited advice. I'm not really interested in debating the validity of someone's personal story in their virtual space. It is his story, after all.

Two months ago he disappeared, after years of posting regularly, sometimes several times a day. Hundreds of "where are you" comments slowly dwindled to "I still check every day ... miss your posts." It's odd to feel like you have seen so much of this person's life, only to have them disappear, entirely without warning or even a forwarding address, so to speak. There's no way of tracking down what happened, where they went, unless you're a cyber-creepy kind of person.

But a couple of days ago, he returned, asking if anyone was still here. Haven't heard the story yet. Don't know if he's really back, or if it will be another few months. But it's nice to know he's alive.

Welcome back, Andrew!