At the inception of my blog there were many thoughts that coursed through my mind, I wanted to have a true journal of my feelings, to pen things from my heart and my soul, to let the writer that I had always dreamed of being emerge. Funny, that thought, why should I triumph now ? In years gone by I had submitted many a short story or manuscript for perusal and approval ...all returned with that dreaded rejection slip. Nothing personal, we' re just not interested.
A blog is somehow different, no editor to please, no specific subject that must be or not be covered. In the beginning I had no followers and even though I attempted to gain some interest from my family and friends, the truth was; they just weren't interested. Somehow I did manage to collect a small following, a mere handful of people, and like always I checked out their blogs, if they had one, and I followed them in turn.
One blog in particular stands out in my memory. It was a dark blog both in thought and in mood and atmosphere. Gray on black, dark upon dark, somber, sad, depressing. The blog was titled Death Unrequested, and from the first post it was apparent that the person behind the blog was writing from a very dark place in their life. Perhaps they had just lost someone very dear to them, perhaps they had been diagnosed with an incurable disease, or maybe a tragedy had befallen them, love lost, broken hearts, countless reasons to suffer from depression.
Time went by and every now and again I'd swing by to check out this blogger, most of the time it was the same post with little change, at other times it taxed my imagination as what or how to comment.
Recently I made a return visit and was pleasantly surprised to find that the mysterious blogger showed signs of brightening. No, the decor of the blog is still dark on dark, still keeps that somber tone and the eulogy on death still remains. But lately the posts have been text from authors who had written about ways to improve one's outlook, how to generate positive energies or forces that could change one's life. Seems possible that my dark and moody blogger was trying to find the light, become free of the ever consuming darkness of depression and was searching out articles on self help. It's a very good sign and I pray that they succeed.
Perhaps my little blog with its meager handful of faithful visitors can direct one new follower, hopefully more, to this blog that lurks in shadows, the hidden soul that no one sees. Could a new follower or two brighten their day, give them cause to move forward, bring meaning to just being ? Who can say? Could this blog encourage just one person to step forward and visit another lonely soul. I wish it could, I pray that it could. But then...perhaps it's wishful thinking on my behalf. How many other human ghosts are there, just like Death Unrequested, just like me, unseen,unnoticed, unheard? They walk past us every day, human ghosts, invisible faces that no one sees. They sit at home alone, sharing their tiny world with the cold, impersonal glare of a PC monitor, or the TV, no cards, no letters, no phone calls. Hearts filled with untold sorrow, despair, losses too great to bear, thoughts left unspoken as no one has time to listen, too consumed in our own affairs, nobody truly cares.
This season let us take a moment from our hectic, far too crammed packed schedule to look around and actually see these ghostly apparitions. The elderly man who's wife is no longer alive and who's children live a great distance away. The elderly woman recently widowed or young mother recently divorced trying to raise her children with no time to spare and no social life. All it takes is a genuine; "Hi, how are you. Is there anything I can do to help?" A plate of fresh baked cookies. A simple little card. An invitation to come over and join you for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Are these things too much for any of us to do ?
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